The authority of government， even such as I am willing to submit to—for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I， and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well—is still an impure one： to be strictly just， it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy， from a limited monarchy to a democracy， is a progress toward a true respect for the individual. Even the Chinese philosopher was wise enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire. Is a democracy， such as we know it， the last improvement possible in government？ Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man？ There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power， from which all its own power and authority are derived， and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at last which can afford to be just to all men， and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor； which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it， not meddling with it， nor embraced by it， who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow men. A State which bore this kind of fruit， and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened， would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State， which I have also imagined， but not yet anywhere seen.
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我由衷地赞同这一名言——最少管事的政府是最好的政府。我还希望看到它能被迅速而彻底地得到执行。我相信，在它执行后，其最终结果将是——最好的政府是不进行任何管理的政府。只要人们对此有所期待，他们就会得到这样的政府。政府充其量不过是一种权宜之计，而大部分政府通常是不明智的，甚至有时所有政府都是不明智的。公民们对设置常备军的反对意见很多、很强烈，而且理应占主导地位，这种意见最终可能转变为反对常设政府，因为常备军队只不过是常设政府的一支胳臂。政府本身也只不过是由人民选择来执行他们意志的形式，在人民来不及通过它来执行意志之前，它同样也很容易被滥用。请看看当前的墨西哥战争，它是少数人将常设政府当做工具的结果，因为一开始人民就不同意采取这种做法。