Men are to be guided only by their self-interests. Good government is a good balancing of these; and, except a keen eye and appetite for self-interest, requires no virtue in any quarter. To both parties it is emphatically a machine: to the discontented, a taxing-machine; to the contented, a machine for securing property. Its duties and its faults are not those of a father, but of an active parish-constable.

Summary

This quote suggests that individuals are primarily driven by their own self-interests. A good government functions by effectively managing and balancing these interests. It argues that virtue is not required for governance, emphasizing that government is essentially a machine. It serves as a means to tax and regulate the discontented, and to protect and preserve property for the contented. The responsibilities and shortcomings of government are likened to those of an active parish-constable, lacking the paternalistic role often associated with governance.

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