Personal Freedom and Prosperity 105: Freedom and Governance

A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government. —Thomas Jefferson, Inaugural Address 1801

The paramount duty of a governance system dedicated to human freedom is to protect each individual and their possessions from the force of others – especially government.