Hume on Knaves in Government

by | Nov 9, 2016

Hume on Knaves in Government

by | Nov 9, 2016

“Political writers have established it as a maxim, that, in contriving any system of government, and fixing the several checks and controuls of the constitution, every man ought to be supposed a knave, and to have no other end, in all his actions, than private interest. By this interest we must govern him, and, by means of it, make him, notwithstanding his insatiable avarice and ambition, co-operate to public good. Without this, say they, we shall in vain boast of the advantages of any constitution, and shall find, in the end, that we have no security for our liberties or possessions, except the good-will of our rulers; that is, we shall have no security at all.”

David Hume

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman

Sheldon Richman is the executive editor of The Libertarian Institute and a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He is the former senior editor at the Cato Institute and Institute for Humane Studies; former editor of The Freeman, published by the Foundation for Economic Education; and former vice president at the Future of Freedom Foundation. His latest books are Coming to Palestine and What Social Animals Owe to Each Other.

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

Podcasts

scotthortonshow logosq

coi banner sq2@0.5x

liberty weekly thumbnail

Don't Tread on Anyone Logo

313x0w (1)

313x0w (1)

313x0w (1)

Our Books

Recent Articles

Recent

The US Navy Does the Right Thing: At Last

This is the first US Navy decision I can get behind in years. The US Navy just cancelled its Constellation class frigate program because it is absolutely incapable of building hulls and ships that work. They have not launched a successful surface ship since 1991 with...

read more
Henry Hazlitt, ‘Economic Conscience of a Nation’

Henry Hazlitt, ‘Economic Conscience of a Nation’

Henry Hazlitt’s life story reads like a microcosm of the American century. Born in Philadelphia on November 28, 1894, he lost his father in infancy and left the City College of New York to support his widowed mother. In the fluid labor market of the time he bounced...

read more

If Wishes Were Buses

Like a major air disaster that leaves blackened wreckage scattered far and wide, Zohran Mamdani’s New York collision with reality hurtles ahead. The mayor-elect has once again put on display a key reason that catastrophe is inevitable. It is worse than just...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This