Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi Quote

"The state represents violence in a concentrated and organized form. The individual has a soul, but as the state is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence to which it owes its very existence."

by:	Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) Leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India
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Categories:	Individualism, Statism, Violence
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WOW !, that I could rate this quote hundreds of time for its accuracy.  -- Mike, Norwalk
Our Forefathers were certainly aware of this. They did what none had done before to curb and curtail the natural tendencies of the state. These very tendencies are now more prevalent than ever and are undermining, day by day, all that was.  -- zeitgeist, l
I give it a one because as an abstract philosophical view it is correct. It Gandhi's India it is easy to understand his position but in my state no way. Which if any of the 50 states of the Union act this way. The Federals are certainly not soulless. 534 representatives argue and discuss constanly just as we do various and diverse sides of issues and policies. They are constanly putting in earmarks to help their local states and coming to the aid in times of disaster. I see nothing soulless in my city, state, national, or even United Nations governments. They have all established local, state, national and world wide National Heritage Sites, Parks, Wild Life Areas etcetera, etcetera to protect our planet, its nature, and its antiquites from the predation of the individual. What is soulless are the individuals who poach, pillage and destroy these very same things out of personal avarice and ignorance.  -- Waffler, Smith
Change Gandhi's word 'state' to 'corporation' and his quote maintains every bit of its impact. We can't Free Market ourselves out from under the mess we're in. The violence he refers to begins with the innate territorial instincts and self-interests of any given human or set humans 'in charge,' not their political affiliations.  -- JLM, Kalamazoo
The little guy with the loin cloth nailed Socialism. About 25 years ago a lady came to Austin as a candidate for President on the Socialist Party ticket. When asked what they would do if the people didn't want what she advocated, she told the truth by saying the people would be forced to accept it by whatever means necessary. Socialism is pure FORCE. Socialists don't run a candidate anymore since the Democrats, with plenty of Republican help, have given them everything they wanted.  -- jim k, Austin, Tx      1 1
-- Jfw, Denver
That most people also think, that their state is representing them. That violence breeds more of the same and is not the way. That our answers are within. As we change ourselves ...... the world is also changed. Democracy is no more than mob rule .... see T Jefferson.  -- Jamie, Nelson
Why is it so hard to fathom the notion that the state also includes what the U.S. was founded upon, and what is right about government (and not just what doesn't work about government)? A little more balanced thought & criticism here please.  -- Anonymous, los angeles      1
Anonymous from LA, though the US was founded on eternal principles, logic, reason, the Laws of Nature and Nature's God, individual sovereign unalienable rights and justice, the government set in place to protect such was not necessarily the same. As example, George Washington said: "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Its not hard to fathom at all. Govt is force. In all of its varieties. It is an immoral institution. If you are ok with that then fine. You are entitled to your opinion but you should at least be willing to admit it.  -- Nick
Here's an example of government force, and one county sherriff's dedication to the people of his jurisdiction getting in the way of government force: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoYtnoFn09Y&feature=channel  -- J Carlton, Calgary
That's why corporate law (i.e. equity law, commercial law, or colorable law) was given its own jurisdiction as corporations are non-living entities (corpses) as per the old Roman civil law. By law, corporations do not have rights -- the people within the corporations have rights, but the collective rights of all the people in the corporation do not give them more rights -- however, it does give them concentrated power, and thus must be regulated against abusing the rights of individuals who cannot match the power of a corporation. As such, only living breathing people were granted title to land -- corporations cannot own land, they can only own equitable interest which is tradeable in an open market. Commercial law is the jurisdiction of corporate agreements and charters, essentially judging the keeping of promises and if broken enforcing the agreements. In Common Law, only cases involving real people, real property, and real money are presented to a common law court. When using commercial paper (i.e. promissory notes) for trade, we enter the commercial law jurisdiction as real property is not being transferred, just equitable interest. When the US made real money illegal (FDR in 1934) only commercial paper was to be used for currency, thus, FDR restructured the courts merging common law with equity law, thus turning us all into commercial entities -- 'persons' are corporations according to commercial law and even corporations can be called 'persons' in commercial law -- people have been turned into corporations (a debilitated state, with no sovereign rights) and corporations turned into 'people'. An individual that is now a one-man corporation certainly cannot compete against a 1000-person corporation in a commercial court. Since there are no more common law courts (which, if you can wrap your head around it, is because we do not use real money, we do not possess allodial title to our land, and property in our possession is not actually 'owned' as it has never been paid for with real money), the Uniform Commercial Code, which was brought about via the Commerce Clause in the Constitution, assumes all of us to be within the commercial law jurisdiction. SO for all you crying about corporatism, now you know what it is -- when might makes right, corporations are like giants, and the people are but ants. FDR created the foundation for today's American Fascism. The freeman does not exist except for those who have opted out of the commercial jurisdiction -- and there are thousands now that are disassociating themselves with USA Inc. and re-establishing their sovereign citizen status -- the commercial law does NOT apply to free sovereign citizens. The common law courts need to be re-established in the States, and the return to real money and true allodial title to property will restore the republican form of government established by the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution for the USA.  -- E Archer, NYC      1
Archer, way too much history, legal definitions, and truth for the progressives, liberals, neocons, etc. here. Good job  -- Mike, Norwalk
Nick nailed it. Government is pure force, nothing else. Voting does no good whatsoever as the government gets bigger and more oppressive with each election. Hear a Canadian tell it like it is. Watch, "The Truth about voting" by Stephan Molyneaux on YouTube and see why working your tail off to get someone elected doesn't change anything.  -- jim k, Austin, Tx
Waffler, speaking of soulless federals; I personally know a family who's father was assassinated by the IRS. When the police would not investigate, the family ask an FBI agent that went to church with them to look into it. The agent after a few weeks told the family to leave it alone or they would all be in trouble. Or, how about Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin's professed gay lovers. After each had gone public with their stories, each died. How about the Dorner story. Cops shooting innocent ladies (plural) in the back, through the the ladies pick-up (the cops said they thought it might be Dorner) and nothing happening to the cops. The feds just purchased 2500 armored vehicles to act against Americans. The CIA and Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin have publicly declared they are not ruling out using drones against Americans in America. On, and on, and on, and on - etc., etc., etc. A violent police state, yep, we're there !  -- Mike, Norwalk
The US military has been acting as the world's policeman for decades -- and they bring that attitude and brutal experience back to the States, now with their drones, armored vehicles, crowd controling microwave beams, and a whole host of military weapons and techniques to American towns. We are being treated as the enemy, and our resistance is simply considered the 'evidence.' I am afraid the chickens are coming home to roost. The American people are the last obstacles to global fascism -- we have been too trusting and ignorant for too long, it is going to get ugly, I believe.  -- E Archer, NYC
Waffler, all 50 States (ummm, 57 if you are Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin), as well as the united singularity thereof enforce their theocratic dogma through force and threat/execution of violence. I believe the general outline of the Constitution was Divinely inspired (exceptions of course) BUT ! ! !, that does not exclude carnal man's discharge of duties as being converted to a theocracy of violence. The corporation(s) that now makes up the occupying statist theocracy infesting this land is/are soulless. Those 534 high priests of mention, in context, replicate the non-material phantasm's (government) staple of soulless condition and actions. The high priests / priestesses earmarks and other actions only contend for superiority in the manner of despotism to be violently enforced. To see a soul, you must have a soul — to be an agent of violence (soulless propagator of force, IRS stooge, etc.) is an inability to recognize the here subject soul. The Christ, from a religion outside the current occupying statist theocracy infesting this land addressed this issue in Matthew 7:22,23: “Many will say ⋯ have we not prophesied in thy name? ⋯ and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22, 23) Iniquity (antithetical to the Hebrew equity, not the Greek) here describes a scenario of those that act without Celestially substantive souls (force and violence being the organized form).  -- Mike, Norwalk
Interestingly enough Gandhi is also credited with the statement that one of the darkest days in India was when citizens were divested of their firearms. He was a brilliant man and no fool.  -- Denise, Durango
-- ABBY
87,000 ARMED IRS agents???  -- ABBY      1
I admire much of the great challenge of Mahatma Gandhi, but I don't follow him at this point. The state is what the individual makes it, if the individual is nonviolent, the state will be nonviolent. Socialism is the challenge of social abilities to create the nonviolent state.  -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown
Forming the state is necessary in the organizing strategy for population management. The education institution will have be improved to keep the state on the path of human development. Socialism is the challenge of social abilities to create the educated state.  -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      1

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