Notable Quote

"This single tyrant need not be combated, need not be defeated; he is automatically defeated if the country refuses to consent to its own enslavement. It is not necessary to deprive him of anything; simply give him nothing. There is no need for the country to do anything for itself, provided it does nothing against itself."

— de La Boétie, Étienne event 1576

From Discourse on Voluntary Servitude

Context: On the mechanism of voluntary servitude and how withdrawal of consent alone defeats tyranny. From Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. English translation by Harry Kurz (1942).