Let people alone, and they will take care of themselves, and do it best; and if they do not, a sufficient punishment will follow their neglect, without the magistrate’s interposition and penalties. It is plain, that such busy care and officious intrusion into personal affairs, or private actions, thoughts, and imaginations of men has in it more craft than kindness; and is only a device to mislead people, and pick their pockets, under the false pretense of the publick and their private good. (p. 428, Liberty Fund edition)
An aside:
You might be a progressive if you think Cato’s Letters is authored by John Allison, CEO of the Cato Institute.
