"Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question."Thus spake Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugural address, March 1801. I must try to commit that to memory for the next time I argue the case for individual freedom and responsibility, as opposed to state coercion and paternalism, which takes the abberant behaviour of the few as justification to trample the liberties of us all.
Hat tip to Witterings from Witney, where I saw the quote.
2 comments:
Good quote, and while I add you to my RSS I'm nicking the quote for my sidebar :-) but I'll swap you Ghandi's "That state is the best governed which is governed least" if you like.
Check out the link to the whole speech, it's full of good stuff. As for your quote, I'll stash it for later use.
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