"It is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects --
military, political, economic, and what not.
But in a way things are much simpler than that.
The State exists simply to promote and to protect
the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life.
A husband and wife chatting over a fire,
a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub,
a man reading a book in his own room
or digging in his own garden --
that is what the State is there for.
And unless they are helping to increase
and prolong and protect such moments,
all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police,
economics, etc., are simply a waste of time."
By: |
C. S. Lewis (more quotes by C. S. Lewis or books by/about C. S. Lewis) |
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(1898-1963), British novelist |
Categories: |
Civil Rights, Congress, Defense, Economics, Government, Individual Rights, Individualism, Politics, Privacy, Prohibition, Prosperity, Respect, Taxation, Virtue, Wisdom, Tax |
Rating: |
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