Earth Quotes
A power to dispose of estates for ever is manifestly absurd. The earth and the fulness of it belongs to every generation, and the preceding one can have no right to bind it up from posterity. Such extension of property is quite unnatural.
"A power to dispose of estates for ever is manifestly absurd. The earth and the fulness of it belongs to every generation, and the preceding one can have no right to bind it up from posterity. Such extension of property is quite unnatural."— Adam Smith
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Meaning of this quote
The statement challenges one generation's power to control property arrangements indefinitely.
Key takeaway:
Consider future generations when setting long-lasting rules.
Origin of the quote
Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue and Arms (student notes; published 1896)
Who actually said this?
Located in the student-recorded Lectures on Jurisprudence; attribution is to lecture notes rather than a book prepared by Smith. Wording and spelling vary by edition.
