John Adams Quote 

"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as
sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and
public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence."

by:
John Adams
(1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Source:
Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States
Categories:
 
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Reader comments about this quote:
it sucks
 -- ashley, golden		 
It's great!
 -- Yndrd1984, Ames, IA		 
It's great!
 -- Mike, NC		 
Well, we can clearly see that socialists also read the liberty quotes. John Adams is absolutely correct - Countries where Socialism and Communism have been allowed follow the quick road of anarchy and tyranny - You take away from man the basic right of keeping what he has worked himself for, his property, his dignity, his honor - in time, such a man will revolt - even at the expense of his own life.
 -- Logan, Memphis, TN		 
Thank you, Mr. Adams.
 -- Judith, Midland		 
Of course, John Adams is correct. But only to a point. Material property is finite, so that there is a limit on what anyone could own; you could only own as much as there is, and no more. If a small group owned a tremendous amount, a larger group would have to suffer want as a result. This is, in fact, one of the causes of famine (although hunger as a political tool and ignorance of existing technology also contributes to hunger). Such large tracts of land in some places are made unavailable for planting of food crops, resulting in food shortages for the poor populations. So, by all means respect property, and also respect people's right to life.
 -- David L. Rosenthal , Hollywood		 
I will protect what is mine. Law abiding citizens need not fear me, but criminals beware ... you may get shot stealing from me.
 -- Joe, Rochester, MI		 
The source is Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States
 -- Mike, Madison		 
"The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory." - U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in dissent of the Kelo v. New London Supreme Court ruling
 -- Art, Connecticut		 
Rousseau argued that the first man to lay down a fence to take land as his own is responsible for all the war and tyranny. When soo much war and hate has started from the covetting of other's property how can the above quote stand as true? It can't, the basis is, that without principles of ownership half the issues we have seen in our history wouldn't have happened. The state wouldn't exist in reality or concept.
 -- WILL, portsmouth		 
Adams is correct, but incomplete. The right to private property is a "natural right," as George Mason pointed out in his draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. That means every human being has the right -- by nature (i.e., God-given) -- to own things. The rights of private property, on the other hand, must be limited as to their exercise, i.e., you cannot use what you own to harm yourself, others, or society, and society may even regulate ownership of certain things, but only to the extent that there is a general consensus that such things should not be privately owned and handed over to the State for expedience. Thus, most people agree that, while we have the right to keep and bear arms, this does not include atomic weapons. An important caveat, evidently forgotten by the judges in the New London case, is that, while the State has the responsibility to define the exercise of property, it may never do so in a way that negates the underlying natural right to be an owner. To take property with compensation for overriding public use is one thing, and often necessary, but to take it for a public PURPOSE -- all purposes being "public" as man is by nature a political animal -- utterly destroys property as a natural right, or even a right at all.
 -- MDG, Evansville, IN		 
Here we are today, the very antithesis of the quote existing alive and well in the USA. Outrageous.
 -- Nancy, OH		 
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