"Modern libertarians know of many great thinkers only because of Murray Rothbard. My favorite in this category is the 16th century anarchist, Étienne de la Boetie. To him, the great mystery of politics was obedience to rulers. Why in the world do people agree to be looted and otherwise oppressed by government overlords? It is not just fear, Boetie explains in “The Discourse on Voluntary Servitude,” for our consent is required. And that consent can be non-violently withdrawn."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Lew Rockwell, in "Étienne de la Boetie and Egypt" (11 February 2011)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_de_La_Bo%C3%A9tie
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Étienne de La Boétie
15 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Étienne de La Boétie →
Related Quotes
"Poor, wretched, and stupid peoples, nations determined on your own misfortune and blind to your own good! You let you…"
"Et de tant d'indignités que les bêtes elles-mêmes ne supporteraient pas si elles les sentaient, vous pourriez vous dé…"
"Soyez résolus à ne plus servir, et vous voilà libres. Je ne vous demande pas de le pousser, de l'ébranler, mais seule…"
"There is in our souls some native seed of reason, which, if nourished by good counsel and training, flowers into virt…"
"The good seed that nature plants in us is so slight and so slippery that it cannot withstand the least harm from wron…"
"Men are like handsome race horses who first bite the bit and later like it, and rearing under the saddle a while soon…"
"The dictator does not consider his power firmly established until he has reached the point where there is no man unde…"
"Do not imagine that there is any bird more easily caught by decoy, nor any fish sooner fixed on the hook by wormy bai…"
"Tyrants would distribute largess, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would shame…"
"The mob has always behaved in this way—eagerly open to bribes that cannot be honorably accepted, and dissolutely call…"