Quotes by David Hume
1711 – 1776
David Hume (1711-1776) was a moral philosopher and historian and a leading member of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Bio
In philosophy he was a skeptic. In his multi-volume History of England he showed how the rule of law and the creation of an independent judiciary created the foundation for liberty in England. Hume also wrote on economics, was a personal friend of Adam Smith,and was a proponent of free trade. His works highlighted the neutrality of money and the errors of the mercantilists (whose flawed theories in favor of increased exports in order to build up a stock of gold remain the foundations of many public policies even today).
See the Liberty Matters online discussions on Smith, Hume, and Burke as Policy Liberals and Polity Conservatives and The Place of Liberty in David Hume’s Project
Origin of Government
David Hume argued that Individual Liberty emerged slowly out of the “violent system of government” which had earlier prevailed in Europe (1778)
Origin of Government
David Hume ponders why the many can be governed so easily by the few and concludes that both force and opinion play a role (1777)
Origin of Government
David Hume on the origin of government in warfare, and the “perpetual struggle” between Liberty and Power (1777)
Food & Drink
David Hume examines the pride of the turkey (and other creatures) (1739)
Religion & Toleration
David Hume argues that “love of liberty” in some individuals often attracts the religious inquisitor to persecute them and thereby drive society into a state of “ignorance, corruption, and bondage” (1757)
Politics & Liberty
David Hume believes we should assume all men are self-interested knaves when it comes to politics (1777)
Free Trade
David Hume on how the prosperity of one’s neighbors increases one’s own prosperity (1777)
Property Rights
David Hume on property as a convention which gradually emerges from society (1739)
Philosophy
David Hume on the Perception of Beauty