Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Idée générale de la Révolution au 19^e siècle 1851.

par Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Être GOUVERNÉ, c’est être gardé à vue, inspecté, espionné, dirigé, légiféré, réglementé, parqué, endoctriné, prêché, contrôlé, estimé, apprécié, censuré, commandé, par des êtres qui n’ont ni le titre, ni la science, ni la vertu… Être GOUVERNÉ, c’est être, à chaque opération, à chaque transaction, à chaque mouvement, noté, enregistré, recensé, tarifé, timbré, toisé, coté, cotisé, patenté, licencié, autorisé, apostillé, admonesté, empêché, réformé, redressé, corrigé. C’est, sous prétexte d’utilité publique, et au nom de l’intérêt général, être mis à contribution, exercé, rançonné, exploité, monopolisé, concussionné, pressuré, mystifié, volé ; puis, à la moindre résistance, au premier mot de plainte, réprimé, amendé, vilipendé, vexé, traqué, houspillé, assommé, désarmé, garrotté, emprisonné, fusillé, mitraillé, jugé, condamné, déporté, sacrifié, vendu, trahi, et pour comble, joué, berné, outragé, déshonoré.  Voilà le gouvernement, voilà sa justice, voilà sa morale !

TRANSLATION

To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so. To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be place[d] under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.

The Anti-Politician Politician

An anti-politician politician is one who asserts that political power is suspect in the hands of career politicians — but not in his or her hands; it’s someone who holds that the only thing wrong with government is that professionals run it. The anti-politician politician never eschews power itself.In other words, anti-politician politicians are not different in principle from career politicians. Ignore the shtick: they too want to rule.

To rule means, among other things, to take your money — without your consent — and spend it on what you’d never spend it on, like wars; military occupations; regime changes; support for dictators; stopping people from getting high or gambling; telling people how to run their own businesses; burdening people who would like start their own businesses; imposing occupational licensing; dictating how people may use their land or their bodies; and much, much more.

Of course, rulers don’t take your money without your consent merely to use it against other people. They will also use it against you. How’s that for adding injury to injury? Not only do they aspire to rule you, they make you pay for the honor. Even when they promise you free things, it costs you.