Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Woe to the people who can not limit the state.

"The state tends to expand in proportion to its means of existence and to live beyond its means, and these are, in the last analysis, nothing but the substance of the people. Woe to the people that cannot limit the sphere of action of the state! Freedom, private enterprise, wealth, happiness, independence, personal dignity, all vanish."

-- Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) French economist, statesman, and author. He did most of his writing during the years just before -- and immediately following -- the French Revolution of February 1848. Source: Sophisms, 141 (HT Liberty Quotes)


Note:
I am currently just posting good quotes to contemplate while I am researching for a detailed post on the number of uninsured Americans. Where does the figure 47 million come from? How much confidence should we place in that number? The size of the problem tells us nothing about the solution, but it does provide a measure by which we can gauge the degree of urgency appropriate to the problem. Stay tuned!

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