States can do many things, but among the many things they cannot do is successfully enforce virtuous behavior. The practice of virtue, by its very nature, is something chosen freely in order to act virtuously, rather than something that can be done merely to avoid the government’s punishment.

Robert Higgs is Retired Senior Fellow in Political Economy, Founding Editor and former Editor at Large of The Independent Review.
Philosophy and Religion
Other Independent Review articles by Robert Higgs
Fall 2019 Pressure-Release Valves in Participatory Fascism
Winter 2018/19 Two Worlds: Politics and Everything Else
Fall 2018 Against the Whole Concept and Construction of the Balance of International Payments
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