No society can possibly be built on a denial of individual freedom Mahatma Gandhi |
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"We honour Liberty in name and in form. We set up her statues and sound her praises. But we have not fully trusted her. And with our growth so grow her demands. She will have no half service!" Henry George |
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Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, Patrick Henry |
| All we ask men to do is two things: on the one hand to produce and trade to their heart's content; on the other, to acknowledge to society, by the payment of rent, the privilege bestowed upon them by allowing them exclusive occupation of portions of the earth |
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Frederick McEachran. Freedom: the only end |
There will never be a free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual
as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived,
and treats him accordingly.xxxxxxxxxxDavid Henry Thoreau
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Free Trade. Under free trade, the consumer is supreme. The whole world is his shopping centre. It is of no concern to him whether foreign governments exploit their people in the interests of favoured groups by restraint on imports, whether they are liberal or totalitarian. His choice as to quality and price is unlimited. No artificial barrier stands between him and the man from whom he buys, or anywhere along the chain that leads - often across oceans and continents - back to the producer who stands ready to meet his demand. The whole infinitely complex series of transactions is conducted in strict privacy. No ships or planes or persons are searched, no goods delayed, no questions are asked, nothing is done to frustrate or impede the fulfilment of the consumers desires. The taxpayer is not obliged to support armies of Custom officers to interfere with the free flow of the gods he has ordered, or to pay the wages of hordes of clerks engaged in compiling useless statistics showing how he has chosen to spend his own money. Goods flow to where they are costly to make: untrammelled competition between producers throughout the whole world keeps to a minimum the price the consumer pays, and leads to constant improvement in quality. The inefficient pull up their socks or go to the wall - the choice is theirs - but they cannot combine to exploit the consumer. No taxes are levied on goods, whether made at home or abroad. Above all the system is based upon trust, no incentive to lying or law-breaking is afforded, and the interdependence of nations and the brotherhood of man finds practical expression in the free, unconscious and peaceful co-operation which is the hallmark and by-product of true free trade. And while we would wish to see these benefits enjoyed by the people of every country, it is an economic fact that they may be had in a single free trading country though all the outside world remains protectionist. Peter R. Stubbings. "The Forgotten Man."
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