No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
–James Madison, Political Observations, Apr. 20, 1795
With so clear prescriptions for a system that worked so well for so long, you need to wonder why some people who fill their mouths with praises to the “Founding Fathers” are trying to tweak the system to force the country into wars.
The worst kind of taxation is runaway inflation, because nobody benefits from it. Large deficits unavoidably bring inflation.
Subscribe to our feed to get the latest happenings delivered directly to you.
No clue what a feed is? No problem, you can receive posts by email as I post them.
You can subscribe to the newsletter via spam free feedblitz.com.
One Response to “No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare”
September 24th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
[...] Original post by Jerry [...]
Leave a Reply