The State is a gang of thieves writ large - the most immoral, grasping and unscrupulous individuals in any society. Murray Rothbard More Quotes by Murray Rothbard More Quotes From Murray Rothbard There can be no such thing as 'fairness in taxation.' Taxation is nothing but organized theft, and the concept of a 'fair tax' is therefore every bit as absurd as that of 'fair theft.' Murray Rothbard fairnesstaxationliberty The State is, and always has been, the great single enemy of the human race, its liberty, happiness, and progress. Murray Rothbard libertyraceenemy It is easy to be conspicuously 'compassionate' if others are being forced to pay the cost. Murray Rothbard libertariancostliberty The man who puts all the guns and all the decision-making power into the hands of the central government and then says, ‘Limit yourself’; it is he who is truly the impractical utopian. Murray Rothbard gunmenhands We libertarians are not the spokesmen for any ethnic or economic class; we are the spokesmen for all classes, for all of the public; we strive to see all of these groups united, hand-in-hand, in opposition to the plundering and privileged minority that constitutes the rulers of the State. Murray Rothbard groupsclasshands The state has typically been a device for producing affluence for a few at the expense of many. Murray Rothbard expensesaffluencestates States have always needed intellectuals to con the public into believing that its rule is wise, good, and inevitable Murray Rothbard stateswisebelieve Capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism. Not only are they compatible, but you can't really have one without the other. True anarchism will be capitalism, and true capitalism will be anarchism Murray Rothbard anarchismcapitalismexpression It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance. Murray Rothbard disciplineignorancepeople We must, therefore, emphasize that 'we' are not the government; the government is not 'us.' The government does not in any accurate sense 'represent' the majority of the people. But, even if it did, even if 70 percent of the people decided to murder the remaining 30 percent, this would still be murder and would not be voluntary suicide on the part of the slaughtered minority. No organicist metaphor, no irrelevant bromide that 'we are all part of one another,' must be permitted to obscure this basic fact. Murray Rothbard governmentsuicidepeople Once one concedes that a single world government is not necessary, then where does one logically stop at the permissibility of separate states? If Canada and the United States can be separate nations without being denounced as in a state of impermissible ‘anarchy’, why may not the South secede from the United States? New York State from the Union? New York City from the state? Why may not Manhattan secede? Each neighbourhood? Each block? Each house? Each person? Murray Rothbard blockgovernmentnew-york Governmental subsidy systems promote inefficiency in production and efficiency in coercion and subservience, while penalizing efficiency in production and inefficiency in predation. Murray Rothbard subsidiesgovernmentcoercion The libertarian sees the State as a giant gang of organized criminals, who live off the theft called "taxation" and use the proceeds to kill, enslave, and generally push people around. Therefore, any property in the hands of the State is in the hands of thieves, and should be liberated as quickly as possible. Any person or group who liberates such property, who confiscates or appropriates it from the State, is performing a virtuous act and a signal service to the cause of liberty. Murray Rothbard libertyhandspeople Monetary inflation not only raises prices and destroys the value of the currency unit; it also acts as a giant system of expropriation. Murray Rothbard currencyraisesgiants Equality is not in the natural order of things, and the crusade to make everyone equal in every respect (except before the law) is certain to have disastrous consequences. Murray Rothbard lawnaturalorder Remember that the minimum wage law provides no jobs; it only outlaws them; and outlawed jobs are the inevitable result. Murray Rothbard minimum-wagelawjobs On the free market, everyone earns according to his productive value in satisfying consumer desires. Under statist distribution, everyone earns in proportion to the amount he can plunder from the producers. Murray Rothbard plunderanarchydesire All government operation is wasteful, inefficient, and serves the bureaucrat rather than the consumer. Murray Rothbard operationsconsumersgovernment You don't need a treaty to have free trade. Murray Rothbard libertarianlibertyneeds Just as no one is morally required to answer a robber truthfully when he asks if there are any valuables in one’s house, so no one can be morally required to answer truthfully similar questions asked by the State, e.g., when filling out income tax returns. Murray Rothbard incomeanswershouse
