Quote

The State is a gang of thieves writ large - the most immoral, grasping and unscrupulous individuals in any society.

Murray Rothbard

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Murray Rothbard
Age: 68 †
Born: 1926
Born: March 2
Died: 1995
Died: January 7
Activist
Economist
Essayist
Historian
Philosopher
Professor
University Teacher
Writer
The Bronx
New York City
Murray Newton Rothbard
Murray N. Rothbard
Society
Writ
Individual
Grasping
States
Gang
Thieves
Immoral
Individuals
Large
State
Unscrupulous

More quotes by Murray Rothbard

Image
Capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism.
Murray Rothbard
Image
The necessary consequence of an egalitarian program is the decidedly inegalitarian creation of a ruthless power elite.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Minimum wage laws tragically generate unemployment, especially so among the poorest and least skilled or educated workers... Because a minimum wage, of course, does not guarantee any worker's employment it only prohibits, by force of law, anyone from being hired at the wage which would pay his employer to hire him.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Throughout history governments have been chronically short of revenue. The reason should be clear: unlike you and me, governments do not produce useful goods and services that they can sell on the market governments, rather than producing and selling services, live parasitically off the market and off society.
Murray Rothbard
Image
In short, the early receivers of the new money in this market chain of events gain at the expense of those who receive the money toward the end of the chain, and still worse losers are the people (e.g., those on fixed incomes such as annuities, interest, or pensions) who never receive the new money.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Behind the honeyed but patently absurd pleas for equality is a ruthless drive for placing themselves (the elites) at the top of a new hierarchy of power.
Murray Rothbard
Image
The State provides a legal, orderly, systematic channel for predation on the property of the producers.
Murray Rothbard
Image
...The very nature of interstate war puts innocent civilians into great jeopardy, especially with modern technology.
Murray Rothbard
Image
You don't need a treaty to have free trade.
Murray Rothbard
Image
States have always needed intellectuals to con the public into believing that its rule is wise, good, and inevitable
Murray Rothbard
Image
This, by the way, is the welfare state in action: Its a whole bunch of special interest groups screwing consumers and taxpayers, and making them think they're really benefiting.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Positivism eliminates any kind of natural law principle - for example, that there are economic laws which can be transgressed only at your peril. With positivism, there is a tendency to leap into ad hoc economic theory.
Murray Rothbard
Image
The State is, and always has been, the great single enemy of the human race, its liberty, happiness, and progress.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Unlike every other person and institution in society, government obtains its revenue from coercion, from taxation.
Murray Rothbard
Image
All government operation is wasteful, inefficient, and serves the bureaucrat rather than the consumer.
Murray Rothbard
Image
I see a great future for gold and silver coins as the currency people may increasingly turn to when paper currencies begin to disintegrate.
Murray Rothbard
Image
The best way to help the poor is to slash taxes and allow savings, investment, and creation of jobs to proceed unhampered.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Scratch an egalitarian, and you will inevitably find a statist.
Murray Rothbard
Image
Who wants good people in government? Good people should be in the private sector. Helping us out, helping themselves out in the private sector. We want schmoes in government. We want people who can't find the doorknob. Why waste productive people, as well as looting the taxpayer?
Murray Rothbard
Image
Monetary inflation not only raises prices and destroys the value of the currency unit it also acts as a giant system of expropriation.
Murray Rothbard