As high as mind stands above nature, so high does the state stand above physical life. Man must therefore venerate the state as a secular deity. The march of God in the world, that is what the State is. – G. W. F. Hegel

The worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it — a State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes — will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished. – John Stuart Mill

In the twentieth century one of the most personal relationships to have developed is that of the person and the state. Its become a fact of life that governments have become very intimate with people, most always to their detriment. – E. L. Doctorow