Lysander Spooner Quote

"In truth, in the case of individuals, their actual voting is not to be taken as proof of consent, even for the time being. On the contrary, it is to be considered that, without his consent having ever been asked, a man finds himself environed by a government that he cannot resist; a government that forces him to pay money, render service, and forego the exercise of many of his natural rights, under peril of weighty punishments. He sees, too, that other men practise this tyranny over him by the use of the ballot. He sees further that, if he will but use the ballot himself, he has some chance of relieving himself from this tyranny of others, by subjecting them to his own. In short, he finds himself, without his consent, so situated that, if he use the ballot, he may become a master; if he does not use it, he must become a slave. And he has no other alternative than these two. In self-defence, he attempts the former.

His case is analogous to that of a man who has been forced into battle, where he must either kill others, or be killed himself. Because, to save his own life in battle, a man attempts to take the lives of his opponents, it is not to be inferred that the battle is one of his own choosing. Neither in contests with the ballot -- which is a mere substitute for a bullet -- because, as his only chance of self-preservation, a man uses a ballot, is it to be inferred that the contest is one into which he voluntarily entered; that he voluntarily set up all his own natural rights, as a stake against those of others, to be lost or won by the mere power of numbers. On the contrary, it is to be considered that, in an exigency, into which he had been forced by others, and in which no other means of self-defence offered, he, as a matter of necessity, used the only one that was left to him."

by:	Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) Political theorist, activist, abolitionist
Source:	No Treason. No. II The Constitution, (Boston: Published by the Author, 1867) http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2213&layout=html
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Categories:	Authority, Consent, Constitution, Duty, Government, Honor, Integrity, Power, Treason, Tyranny, Usurpation, Vote, War
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It seems that our vote is our only defense. Usually we are only trying to select the lesser of the two evils and the one we select does not keep his campaign promises. It's time for a tea party revolution so that we have more than just a vote.  -- cal, lewisville, tx
Lysander is always in such a conundrum. I don't know why a guy like this just does not put a bullet to his own head. Otherwise I think his statement is true. Those who say voting does not work should read the news about Democrats rethinking their strategy after a few republicans won some governorships. Politics is about public opinion and as Eisenhower said governing from the middle of it. Lysander is correct but I think he and us need to grow up to the real world in which we live. No man is an island unto himself as Lysander appears to wish to be.  -- Waffler, Smith
Why is it, Waffler, that anyone who protests their oppression should just leave or kill themselves? Typical slave-talk from Waffler. Spooner nails it! We can talk all we want about how it is 'supposed' to be or what the Founders intended, the fact remains we are born into this world, a world that Spooner truthfully describes. He says what many of us do not want to admit, but there it is. Denial is rampant in American culture -- either we start learning hard truths or just roll over and accept our servitude with grace like good little obedient slaves. You know where I stand.  -- E Archer, NYC
Placing popular pressure on slave masters is the potion that keeps the truth subdued while cal is right but, the lesser of 2 evils is still evil. Said well Archer. Voting for who will represent the State has only slowed the tyranny down. Taking into account Spooner's sentiment above, if we voted for individuals to represent 'We The People', there would be freedom for all and much less fear based slave mentalities.  -- Mike, Norwalk
Well, considering that GW was appointed by the US Supremes and not voted in the second because our ballot system is rampant with corruption or at least possibilities for corruption, the former being the more likely, it seems Spooner did not realize what difficulties the voters in our era would be up against. Given the deal was broken years ago, that we would have a voice, a vote, it is up to the people to clean it up. The crooks sure won't. What that means could be interpreted in numerous way. I am basically a pacifist, scared of guns, and too old to fight. Just leave me in peace until it is time for me to go.  -- Pearl, Oceanside
Pearl, you are probably going to get your wish sooner than you'd hoped for with the planned eugenics that are coming.  -- Mike, Norwalk
Mike is so arrogant to call the people's choice (currently Obama for example) as "who will represent the state" whild his vote is always for "individuals who will represent the people". Mike it is so sad that you cannot see your hypocrisy and dictatorail mind set. You like Archer are not individualist as you dream to be but simple attackers against any vestige of people power or organization represented by the smallest org such as a homeowners org, village, city, state etc. You Mike always claim to be "for the people" while whatever the "people are for" is anathema to you. I know nothing about where Archer stands accept like Spooner he appears to stand four square for misanthropy.  -- Waffler, Smith
I assume that Waffler would call all libertarians/anarchists "isolationist" as well, which is far from the truth. It is true that no man is an island, but to make a logical leap from the need for society to the need for government is absurd! Voluntary interaction is always better than coercive interaction. Regardless of what the public thinks is best, there is a best; it can be measured and tested. Not to mention, the two party system is a laughable gauge for "public opinion". Obama may have beat McCain, but that doesn't mean that a majority, or even a single person, "chose" him for the presidency. Lastly dear Waffler, to say that submission to theft and coercion is "growing up" is very misguided. On the contrary I would call it a evolutionary degeneration. If everyone "grew up" and submitted, America wouldn't exist. Our country was founded because a minority got tired of the overreaching arm of a government that was propped up by corrupt bankers.  -- Chazz Chance, PHX
Spooner's words contribute more to this discussion; "a man is none the less a slave because he is allowed to choose a new master once in a term of years." Buying into the lesser evil false paradigm is akin to embracing the master. Some minor differences are evident between the two candidates for the much maligned presidential office, but in general they offer more of the same. Saying we need to pick one over the other discards the idea that we are consenting to tyranny. Voting is still either an act of aggression or defense, but I can not support it's use either way with a clear conscience. I vote no confidence.  -- sprale, http://www.libecon.com

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