"As a corollary to the proposition that all institutions must be subordinated to the law of equal freedom, we cannot choose but admit the right of the citizen to adopt a condition of voluntary outlawry. If every man has freedom to do all that he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man, then he is free to drop connection with the state—to relinquish its protection, and to refuse paying towards its support. It is self-evident that in so behaving he in no way trenches upon the liberty of others; for his position is a passive one; and whilst passive he cannot become an aggressor. It is equally selfevident that he cannot be compelled to continue one of a political corporation, without a breach of the moral law, seeing that citizenship involves payment of taxes; and the taking away of a man’s property against his will, is an infringement of his rights."
Herbert Spencer concludes from his principle of equal freedom that individuals have the Right to Ignore the State (1851) | Online Library of Liberty
https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/herbert-spencer-concludes-from-his-principle-of-equal-freedom-that-individuals-have-the-right-to-ignore-the-state-1851
m4dire0701
npub1l0…k7zqa
2024-09-24 15:35:43
Author Public Key
npub1l0j7srkgmdwy8839st2hn8f9utlgh9vtrm04jksh8tsu32h5vpms9k7zqaPublished at
2024-09-24 15:35:43Event JSON
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"content": "\"As a corollary to the proposition that all institutions must be subordinated to the law of equal freedom, we cannot choose but admit the right of the citizen to adopt a condition of voluntary outlawry. If every man has freedom to do all that he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man, then he is free to drop connection with the state—to relinquish its protection, and to refuse paying towards its support. It is self-evident that in so behaving he in no way trenches upon the liberty of others; for his position is a passive one; and whilst passive he cannot become an aggressor. It is equally selfevident that he cannot be compelled to continue one of a political corporation, without a breach of the moral law, seeing that citizenship involves payment of taxes; and the taking away of a man’s property against his will, is an infringement of his rights.\"\n\nHerbert Spencer concludes from his principle of equal freedom that individuals have the Right to Ignore the State (1851) | Online Library of Liberty\nhttps://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/herbert-spencer-concludes-from-his-principle-of-equal-freedom-that-individuals-have-the-right-to-ignore-the-state-1851",
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