...the Statement, "the Purpose Of The Law

Socialism, Like The Ancient Ideas From Which It Springs, Confuses The Distinction Between Government And Society. As A Result Of This, Every Time We Object To A Thing Being Done By Government, The Socialists Conclude That We Object To Its Being Done At All . . . . It Is As If The Socialists Were To Accuse Us Of Not Wanting Persons To Eat Because We Do Not Want The State To Raise Grain

When Plunder Becomes A Way Of Life, Men Create For Themselves A Legal System That Authorizes It And A Moral Code That Glorifies It.

The Creation Of New Capital Always... Releases... Labor. Its Actual Effect [though] Is Not To Make Jobs Scarce, But To Free Men's Labor For Other Jobs.

In An Economy, An Act, A Habit, An Institution, Or A Law, Gives Birth Not Only To An Effect, But To A Series Of Effects. Of These Effects, The First Only Is Immediate; It Manifests Itself Simultaneously With Its Cause - It Is Seen. The Others Unfold In Succession - They Are Not Seen. Now This Difference Is Enormous, For It Is Often True That When The Immediate Consequence Is Favorable, The Ultimate Consequences Are Fatal, And The Converse.

The Law Has Been Perverted, And The Powers Of The State Have Become Perverted Along With It. The Law Has Not Only Been Turned From Its Proper Function, But Made To Follow An Entirely Contrary Purpose. The Law Has Become A Tool For Every Kind Of Greed. Instead Of Preventing Crime, The Law Itself Is Guilty Of The Abuses It Is Supposed To Punish. If This Is True, It Is A Serious Matter, And Moral Duty Requires Me To Call The Attention Of My Fellow-citizens To It.