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Civil liberty is the status of the man who is guaranteed by law and civil institutions the exclusive employment of all his own powers for his own welfare.

— William Graham Sumner

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Freedom

More quotes by William Graham Sumner

It is often said that the earth belongs to the race, as if raw land was a boon, or gift.

He is the man who never is thought of. … He works, he votes, generally he prays—but he always pays.

If I want to be free from any other man’s dictation, I must understand that I can have no other man under my control.

What we prepare for is what we shall get.

The man who started with the notion that the world owed him a living would once more find, as he does now, that the world pays him its debt in the state prison.

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Attribution

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