Anarchism and the State

All government, in essence, says emerson, is tyranny. It matters not whether it is government by divine right or majority rule. In every instance its aim is the absolute subordination of the individual. Law never made man a whit more just. By means of their respect for it, even the well disposed are daily made agents of injustice. With the arrogance and self sufficiency of the king, who could do no wrong, governments ordain judge condemn and punish most insignificant offences while maintaining themselves by the greatest of all offences, the annihilation of individual liberty. The state is the altar of political freedom.