By Nathan Barton

The following quote came from one of my daily quote subscriptions, and is worth sharing with readers.  Notice this was written in the 19th Century, but is just as true today. It was written about France, but is just as true about ALL of Europe and the Fifty States (yes, every one of them).  Yet, sadly, most people consider “Governed” to be a GOOD thing.

SELF-government IS a good thing – each of us responsible for our own actions and their consequences.  To be governed by someone else indicates either we are an immature child (as in governed by parents) OR we are incompetent and willing to (or forced to) abide by someone else’s demands, desires, controls, opinions, and morality.  The difference between being involuntarily governed and slavery is only in degree and not really in kind.

Proudhon’s words may seem harsh, but they are true.  Read and ponder them.

“To be GOVERNED is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so. . . To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed,  outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”
— Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) French mutualist political philosopher