Quote#Politics & Power
I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs…
Quote byHenry David Thoreau · 1817–1862
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Civil Disobedience (1849).
English (original)
I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — "That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.
— Henry David Thoreau
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