Quotes from Our Enemy the State

Albert Jay Nock ·  0 pages

Rating: (488 votes)


“When a beggar asks us for a quarter, our instinct is to say that the State has already confiscated our quarter for his benefit, and he should go to the State about it.”
― Albert Jay Nock, quote from Our Enemy the State


“All the power [the State] has is what society gives it, plus what it confiscates from time to time on one pretext or another; there is no other source from which State power can be drawn. Therefore every assumption of State power, whether by gift or seizure, leaves society with so much less power.”
― Albert Jay Nock, quote from Our Enemy the State


“The positive testimony of history is that the State invariably had its origin in conquest and confiscation. No primitive State known to history originated in any other manner.”
― Albert Jay Nock, quote from Our Enemy the State


“The competition of social power with State power is always disadvantaged, since the State can arrange the terms of competition to suit itself, even to the point of outlawing any exercise of social power whatever in the premises; in other words, giving itself a monopoly.”
― Albert Jay Nock, quote from Our Enemy the State


“Instead of recognizing the State as “the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men,” the run of mankind, with rare exceptions, regards it not only as a final and indispensable entity, but also as, in the main, beneficent.”
― Albert Jay Nock, quote from Our Enemy the State



About the author

Albert Jay Nock
Born place: in Scranton, Pennsylvania, The United States
Born date October 13, 1870
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Ramona, I hear the mission bells above, Ramona, they’re ringing out our song of love.” Ramona stared at her book as she thought mean, dark thoughts about Uncle Hobart.”
― Beverly Cleary, quote from Ramona Quimby, Age 8


“Another form of church, football was all that stood between earth and God.”
― Morrissey, quote from Autobiography


“Sometimes I wonder if my whole life will pass by this way: me waiting in the shadows, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for someone else to make it happen. Something new or different or crazy and amazing. I‘ve been there for so long, letting everyone else figure it out for me, floating along without much direction or conscious thought. Reacting.”
― Sarah Ockler, quote from Fixing Delilah


“So how about this,” he said, focusing on the pan. “The next time we get the chance, you”
― C.L. Stone, quote from Drop of Doubt


“My hands shot up over my head, grabbing his ears. I yanked, bending forward.

North sailed over me. I gasped, stunned by what I just did.

"Holy shit," Nathan uttered.
"Kota," Gabriel whined. "Mommy and daddy are fighting again.”
― C.L. Stone, quote from Forgiveness and Permission


Interesting books

Fish!: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(21.9K)
Blue Labyrinth
(13.9K)
Blue Labyrinth
by Douglas Preston
The Syrian Virgin
(401)
The Syrian Virgin
by Zack Love
Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
(514)
Poems of Edgar Allan...
by Edgar Allan Poe
Who Will Cry When You Die? Life Lessons from the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
(11.3K)
Who Will Cry When Yo...
by Robin S. Sharma
Innocents
(3.5K)
Innocents
by Mary Elizabeth

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.