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Society cannot exist without an apparatus of violent coercion. But neither can it exist if the office holders are irresponsible tyrants free to inflict harm upon those they dislike.

— Ludwig von Mises Socialism (1922)

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More quotes by Ludwig von Mises

Inflation is an increase in the quantity of money without a corresponding increase in the demand for money, i.e., for cash holdings.

The men who are to protect the community against violent aggression easily turn into the most dangerous aggressors. They transgress their mandate.

The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science (1962)

In a battle between force and an idea, the latter always prevails.

Liberalism (1927)

Repression by brute force is always a confession of the inability to make use of the better weapons of the intellect — better because they alone give promise of final success.

Liberalism (1927)

The criterion of truth is that it works even if nobody is prepared to acknowledge it.

The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science (1962)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ludwig von Mises (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.