Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a Government, which we might expect in a country without Government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American political philosopher and writer

Common Sense, “On the Origin and Design of Government in General” (14 Feb 1776)
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