The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right to his own life, to his own liberty, to his own property and to the pursuit of his own happiness. Without property rights, no other rights are possible.


The Virtue of Selfishness (1964)


The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right...

The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right...

The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right...

The only proper, moral purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence—to protect his right...