Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Large governments that provide many services can also take many freedoms, and history shows liberty shrinks as government grows.
- In plain terms
- Bigger government means more services but also more power to take from people.
- What can you take from it?
- Limit government size to protect liberty.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where should government stop?
- What liberty is worth protecting?
Another view
Some public goods need government size.
More from Thomas Jefferson
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
Permalink to quote #213 That government is best which governs least.
Permalink to quote #215 Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.
Permalink to quote #212
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