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The power of choice. You have it. But you forfeit it when you imagine that you can choose for others. You can't. But you can choose for yourself.

Harry Browne

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Harry Browne
Age: 72 †
Born: 1933
Born: June 17
Died: 2006
Died: March 1
Financial Analyst
Peace Activist
Politician
Radio Personality
Writer
New York City
New York
Harry Edson Browne
Imagine
Choices
Others
Power
Forfeit
Choice
Choose

More quotes by Harry Browne

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So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the Mafia. So to be more precise, government is the agency of coercion that has flags in front of its offices.
Harry Browne
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Our government, taxes, and ideas of freedom are already duplicates of the Old World. Our politicians determine how we should live our lives - and our individual liberties are sacrificed for the benefit of the Fatherland.
Harry Browne
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But, actually, it is only Americans who say that our freedoms and prosperity are the reason foreigners hate us. If you ask the foreigners, they make it clear that it's America's bullying foreign policy they detest.
Harry Browne
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World War II has always been of great interest to me. I've known for decades that it was just one more war the politicians suckered us into.
Harry Browne
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Security ... it's simply the recognition that changes will take place and the knowledge that you're willing to deal with whatever happens.
Harry Browne
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Give politicians power and it certainly will be abused eventually - if not by today's politicians, then by their successors.
Harry Browne
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I have no temptation to vote, to campaign, to try and stop a candidate who promises new follies.
Harry Browne
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Being a politician means never having to say you're sorry. You don't have to say, 'I never should have voted to subsidize that ridiculous Enron project in India.' ... After all, they're greedy businessmen and you're a selfless public servant.
Harry Browne
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I am running for President because it is obvious that no Democrat or Republican is ever going to stop the relentless growth of the federal government. Only a Libertarian will free you from the income tax.
Harry Browne
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The marketplace is a wondrous institution. It harnesses the self-interest of each of us and puts it to work for the benefit of all. And it does so without intruding upon our desires, our privacy, or our freedom. It is regulation by reality, not by coercion.
Harry Browne
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The Bill of Rights isn't some legalistic fine print. It was written to make our lives freer, more prosperous, and happier. By forsaking it, America has become no better than any other country in the world.
Harry Browne
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Contrary to all the blather we here about the unique goodness of the American people or our religious heritage or anything else, the one thing that set this country apart from all others was the Bill of Rights.
Harry Browne
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Republicans campaign like Libertarians and govern like Democrats.
Harry Browne
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Forcing people to be generous isn't humanitarian, effective, compassionate or moral. Only acts that are truly voluntary for all concerned can be truly compassionate.
Harry Browne
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Like many people, most Libertarians feel empathy and sympathy for less fortunate people. But they know you can't have perfection in a world of limited resources.
Harry Browne
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Everything we know about human nature and about government tells us that individuals using their own money will achieve far more good for themselves and far more for others than politicians spending money they didn't have to work to earn.
Harry Browne
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For most of our history, Americans enjoyed both liberty and security from foreign threats.
Harry Browne
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Government doesn't work. That's the first lesson we must learn if we want to improve society.
Harry Browne
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When you know that you're capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer.
Harry Browne
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Communities don't think, don't believe, don't want, don't have needs, don't have interests and don't make decisions. Only individuals have minds that generate desires and needs - and only individuals can make choices and decisions.
Harry Browne