All men's impulses, when motivated by legitimate self-interest, fall into a harmonious social pattern...
[It] will depend greatly upon whether men's interests are, in fact, harmonious or antagonistic to one another.
“If they are harmonious, the answer to our problem is to be found in liberty; if they are antagonistic, in coercion.”
- Frederic Bastiat
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Quote of the day: Liberty or coercion
2 comments:
We welcome thoughtful disagreement.
But we do (ir)regularly moderate comments -- and we *will* delete any with insulting or abusive language. Or if they're just inane. It’s okay to disagree, but pretend you’re having a drink in the living room with the person you’re disagreeing with. This includes me.
PS: Have the honesty and courage to use your real name. That gives added weight to any opinion.
I would qualify that and say that the power of coercion should in the first instance rest with those who have suffered injury to property or person.
ReplyDeletePeter, this might interest you:
"Pommy git" OK says BSA (Broadcasting Standards Authority)
True!
ReplyDeleteIt's a sorry state of affairs where most 'serious minds' plan & promote more coercion to fix the problems created by more coercion in the first place.
Those, "..who consider themselves far advanced, but whom I consider twenty centuries behind the times" [Bastiat]