Wilhelm von Humboldt Quotes

That government is best which governs least.

It is certain, I think, that the best government is the one that governs the least. But there is a much-neglected corollary: the best citizen is the one who least needs governing.

The ideal Government of all reflective men, from Aristotle onward, is one which lets the individual alone - one which barely escapes being no government at all.

I love my government not least for the extent to which it leaves me alone.

The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom...

All things being equal, letting people make decisions for themselves will produce smarter outcomes, collectively, than relying on government planners.

I don't believe in politics. I'm an anarchist, I guess you could say. I think people could be just fine looking after themselves.

The less government we have, the better—the fewer laws, and the less confided power.

The more reason, the less government.

I want a government that does nothing.

our society -- unlike most in the world -- presupposes that freedom and liberty are in a frame of reference that makes the individual, not government, the keeper of his tastes, beliefs, and ideas.

Individual liberty depends upon keeping government under control.

My political philosophy as a libertarian says that government has no business intervening in any consensual private behavior. My professional ethic as a thinker and writer, however, says that self-knowledge is our ultimate responsibility

My claim is that we should focus on the values of liberty... If there is not government to insist on those values, then who? ... The single unifying force should be that we govern ourselves.

There are just two rules of governance in a free society: Mind your own business. Keep your hands to yourself.

Americans different in some maybe thoughts or emphasis still have the same ideas. They want a government that lets them be free, that leaves them alone, that doesn't interrupt and interfere with every aspect of their life, that lets them go to work and keep more of what they've worked hard to have.

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people.

Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats.

Government is to point you in the right direction, and not to do everything for you.

My thing is personal freedoms: freedoms for the individual to love whom they want, do with what they want. In fact, I want the government out of almost everything.

I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.

America gains most when individuals have great freedom to pursue personal goals without undue government interference.

People are probably going to realize they can live with a lot less government than what they thought they needed.

I'm a libertarian. It's a terrible word.

My work in government has flowed from the fundamental idea of personal empowerment. It's about giving people the tools they need to pave their own way.