“To kill one man is to be guilty of a capital crime; to kill ten men is to increase the guilt tenfold; to kill a hundred men is to increase it a hundredfold. This the rulers of the earth all recognize, and yet when it comes to the greatest crime—waging war on another state—they praise it. If a man, on seeing a little black, were to say it is black, but on seeing a lot of black were to say it is white, it would be clear that such a man could not distinguish black and white. So those who recognize a small crime as such, but do not recognize the wickedness of the greatest crime of all, cannot distinguish right and wrong.” - Mozi

Highly recommend: The Problem of Political Authority! The Problem of Political Authority first, then mandibles and Bitcoin Standard @ODELL

“The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.” - David Friedman

“How does one man assert his power over another... ? ... By making him suffer. ... Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation.” - George Orwell

“It is not true that history’s villains misused authority. The truth is that they followed the object and design of authority perfectly. “ - Jeremy Locke

"Government is nothing but men acting in concert. The Morality and value of Government, like any other association of men, will be no greater and no less than the Morality and value of the men comprising it. Since Government is nothing but men, its inherent authority' to act is in no way greater or different than the 'authority to act of individuals in isolation. Government has no 'magic powers' or 'authority' not possessed by private individuals. Let he who asserts that Government may do that which the individual may not assume the onus of proof and demonstrate his contention.” - Chris Lyspooner

“I’ve come to realize that the biggest problem anywhere in the world is that people’s perceptions of reality are compulsively filtered through the screening mesh of what they want, and do not want, to be true.” - Travis Walton