David Boaz Quotes

• The difference between libertarianism and socialism is that libertarians will tolerate the existence of a socialist community, but socialists can't tolerate a libertarian community.

  David Boaz

  Differences, Community, Liberty

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• Each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others.

  David Boaz

  Rights, Long, Way

  David Boaz (2015). “The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom”, p.6, Simon and Schuster

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• Conservatives want to be your daddy, telling you what to do and what not to do. Liberals want to be your mommy, feeding you, tucking you in, and wiping your nose. Libertarians want to treat you as an adult.

  David Boaz

  Daddy, Adults, Noses

  David Boaz (2015). “The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom”, p.132, Simon and Schuster

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• Most change in America doesn't come from, politicians. It comes from people inventing things and creating. The telephone, the telegraph, the computer, all those things didn't come from government. Our world is going to get better and better, as long as we keep the politicians from screwing it up.

  David Boaz

  Our World, Government, Creating

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• One difference between libertarianism and socialism is that a socialist society can't tolerate groups of people practicing freedom, but a libertarian society can comfortably allow people to choose voluntary socialism. If a group of people - even a very large group - wanted to purchase land and own it in common, they would be free to do so. The libertarian legal order would require only that no one be coerced into joining or giving up his property.

  David Boaz

  Giving Up, Order, Land

  "The Coming Libertarian Age". Cato Policy Report, January/February 1997.

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• Don't hit other people, don't take their stuff and keep your promises.

  David Boaz

  People, Promise, Stuff

  David Boaz (2015). “The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom”, p.145, Simon and Schuster

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• In 1776, 1950, or now, there's never been a golden age of liberty, and there never will be. People who value freedom will always have to defend it from those who claim the right to wield power over others. ... And, in today's world, that means more than a musket by the door. It means being an active citizen.

  David Boaz

  Mean, Doors, People

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• American [public] schools are failing because they are organized according to a bureaucratic, monopolistic model; their organizing principle is basically the same as that of a socialist economy.

  David Boaz

  School, Socialist Economy, Principles

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• We should distinguish at this point between "government" and "state" ... A government is the consensual organization by which we adjudicate disputes, defend our rights, and provide for certain common needs ... A state on the other hand, is a coercive organization asserting or enjoying a monopoly over the use of physical force in some geographic area and exercising power over its subjects.

  David Boaz

  Exercise, Rights, Government

  David Boaz (1997). “Libertarianism: A Primer”, p.208, Simon and Schuster

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• People in government are self-interested just like people in business.

  David Boaz

  Government, Self, People

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• The only way to break the cycle of unwed motherhood, fatherless children, poverty, crime, and welfare is to recognize that welfare causes more problems than it cures.

  David Boaz

  Children, Motherhood, Way

  David Boaz (2010). “Libertarianism”, p.248, Simon and Schuster

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• Taxes should be lower, flatter, and simpler, in that order.

  David Boaz

  Order, Should, Taxes

  Interview with David Mark, www.politico.com. April 15, 2009.

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• The stark truth is that as long as the welfare state makes it possible for young women - or teenage girls - to have children without a husband and survive without a job, out-of-wedlock births will remain ruinously high, and the inner city will continue to be marked by crime, poverty, and despair.

  David Boaz

  Girl, Jobs, Children

  David Boaz (1997). “Libertarianism: A Primer”, p.261, Simon and Schuster

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• The real reason to abolish departments like Energy and Education is not to promote efficiency, nor even to save taxpayers’ money. It is that many agencies perform functions that are not Federal responsibility. The founders delegated to the Government only strictly defined authority in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. Search the entire Constitution, and you will find no authorization for Congress to subsidize the arts, finance and regulate education or invest tax revenues in energy research.

  David Boaz

  Art, Real, Responsibility

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• We faced a crisis caused by the Federal Reserve, the corporate tax system, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Community Reinvestment Act. But the response of many people in Washington was to blame it on capitalism.

  David Boaz

  People, Community, Blame

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• Maybe that's because guns are sold at a profit, while schools are provided by the government.

  David Boaz

  School, Gun, Government

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• Libertarians have always battled the age-old scourge of war. They understood that war brought death and destruction on a grand scale, disrupted family and economic life, and put more power in the hands of the ruling class - which might explain why the rulers did not always share the popular sentiment for peace. Free men and women, of course, have often had to defend their own societies against foreign threats; but throughout history, war has usually been the common enemy of peaceful, productive people on all sides of the conflict.

  David Boaz

  War, Men, Class

  David Boaz (2015). “The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom”, p.28, Simon and Schuster

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