"Money is the sign of liberty. To curse money is to curse liberty -- to curse life, which is nothing, if it be not free."
by:
Remy de Gourmont
(1858-1915) French poet, novelist, and critic
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Reader comments about this quote:
 -- Anonymous      
 -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US      
I agree completley with this statement. Notice that he didn't say that the LOVE of money is a sign of liberty. The right to obtain wealth, without infringing upon the rights of another, through whatever means, is a Republic right! The government owes no man a living - but it does owe man the protection and ability of making a living free from usurpation and coercion. The minute government infringes upon the ability of the individual sovereign in providing wealth for himself, through whatever means, so long as he does not infringe upon the same right as another, liberty has been lost. Whether this be through welfare, income tax, licensing, or any other cause. When government seeks to control the sovereign man's income and control when and where he can spend it - liberty has been lost.
 -- Logan, Memphis, TN     
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    These seem nebulous thoughts.
     -- David L. Rosenthal, Hollywood     
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    Those who rate this quote low apparently have no use for money, but I bet these socialists have a lot of "stuff" in their homes.
     -- Joe, Rochester, MI     
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    Is it really so? Money's absence may mean servitude and bondage but its surfeit too leads to bondage of the worst kind. It turns ther best of men into its slaves.
     -- Jitendra Kaushal, GURGAON, India     
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    Our ability to move freely and conduct business in a manner designed to improve our lot is the very basis of any free nation. Once the money becomes worthless so do all efforts to achieve excellence. So get ready, the more "stimulus" the imitation President and his puppeteer, The Fed produce the more useless achieving excellence becomes. Hyper inflation is sure to follow.
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    Money and liberty are orthogonal... one says nothing about the other.
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US     
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    Money may not buy happiness, but neither does poverty. This is an accurate quote.
     -- jim k, Austin     
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    I think it would have been said better 'a' sign instead of 'the' sign. Free (mentally, physically, spiritually, etc.) individuals create wealth as evidenced by money (barter, a medium of exchange with tangible and intrinsic value, etc.) What is done with money after its creation is another issue.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Having money is the sign of freedom! One may use one's efforts to aquire this medium of exchange. The poorest nations are the ones with the least freedom or the socialist governments.
     -- cal, lewisville, tx     
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    If this is true and many above seem to think so, and it is arguamble that Americans are among if not the richest people on earth yet the same folk above often if not always bitch about how lacking we are in freedom and liberty in this country. Is it just like Carlton, Jim K and the like are lacking in money is that it. I don't get these guys. I met an Italian immigrant that came here in the early '50's, he became a successful contractor with a fabulous home, he said he was happier after the war living in a flat with many others but they would walk down the street after work singing and enjoying their impoverished liberty. This quote sucks. As Socrates said being rich is using things not owning things.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    There goes Waffler with the "better than over there" rationale. I think people over there need to pull up their own bootstraps, not drag us down. Their plight is not my issue. My country is my issue.
     -- J carlton, Calgary     
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    Money or accumulated wealth is not called a life savings for nothing. You trade a portion of your life and freedom for that wealth. When someone takes it from you, they steal a portion of your life. For that portion of time and freedom that they steal from you, you are essentially their slave. That's why thieves and congressmen have so much in common.
     -- Ken, Allyn, WA     
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    "Batteries are evil." That's what it means to vote thumbs down on this quote. For those thumbs-downers, remember that 'money' is merely a way to trade one's labors and goods. You work for a day and you get a gold coin worth a day's labor -- then you can trade that coin for someone else's day's labor or the goods that are produced by that labor. Money is but a storage medium for 'work.' It is stored power. Of course Waffler, Reston, and Rosenthal need money, use money, and spend money -- the hypocrisy is all too apparent. But when someone else may lay claim to your money, i.e. your labor, your property, your power, they are simply declaring 'their' right to your labors, property, and power, They respect not your life, liberty, or property -- they are declaring the very same war upon you they claim YOU are making on them by earning more than them. What a sick twisted mindset it must require to hold such thieving ideals. Chalk another one up for individualism and liberty, for collectivism is but the mob stealing from the industrious. Communism doesn't work, folks, and you know it. Otherwise, why don't you move to China or Cuba and see how well it works. Those folks are happy as long as everyone else is sharing their misery. F@#! you!
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    I always thought Ken, Archer, Carlton, Jim K and others were really coming from a love of money background in their comments on this site. Now at least they have shown their true colors. I feel sorry for them that they think that is what life is all about. The MSNBC series "Americna Greed" should interview these guys.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    It is true. Money is a sign of Liberty. No doubt. The quotation is not about Love, which is a sign of Engagement. To me, both are necessary for Happiness to be. "No man is an island" (John Donne).
     -- Astoria, NY     
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    I love the quote, and support Logan and Archer. There is nothing greedy about exchanging a wage for a job well done. It is business, not love. I remember when I thought like him tho...I was about 14 and thought, gosh, why can't we just put all the money in a big pile and everyone share. But as it turns out, there are not as many worker bees there are as drones. I support your choice to be a drone...but please don't ask me to pay you for your time...we share the same liberty in this country...tho it is rapidly disappearing right in front of us.
     -- abigail adams, usa     
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     -- Ronw13, ID      

    At this point you need money to live, but you don't live for money.


     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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