James Bovard Quotes

People have been taught to expect far more from government than from freedom.

Government cannot make trade more fair by making it less free.

The Night Watchman State has been replaced by Highway Robber States – governments in which no asset, no contract, no domain is safe from the fleeting whim of politicians.

“Fair trade” is a moral delusion that could be leading to an economic catastrophe.

In the long run, people have more to fear from governments than from terrorists. Terrorists come and go, but power-hungry politicians will always be with us.

The Patriot Act treats every citizen like a suspected terrorist and every federal agent like a proven angel.

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

The growth of government is like the spread of a dense jungle, and the average citizen can hack through less of it every year.

A democratic government that respects no limits on its power is a ticking time bomb, waiting to destroy the rights it was created to protect.

Instead of revealing the “will of the people,” election results are often only a one-day snapshot of transient mass delusions.

A law is simply a reflection of the momentary perception of self-interest by a majority of a legislative body.

America needs fewer laws, not more prisons. By trying to seize far more power than is necessary over American citizens, the federal government is destroying its own legitimacy. We face a choice not of anarchy or authoritarianism, but a choice of limited government or unlimited government.

Clinton exploited and expanded the dictatorial potential of the U.S. presidency.

So much of political philosophy throughout history has consisted of concocting reasons why people have a duty to be tame animals in politicians’ cages.

Attention Deficit Democracy produces the attitudes, ignorance and arrogance that pave the way to political collapse.