"Government is an evil; it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay"

Percy Bysshe Shelley, a prominent figure in the Romantic movement, expressed a deep skepticism toward government and its role in society. His statement portrays government not as an inherent good, but as an "evil", a necessary one, born from human flaws and moral shortcomings. He suggests that it is the "thoughtlessness and vices" of people, selfishness, ignorance, cruelty, and lack of wisdom, that create the need for structured authority and imposed rules. Only because individuals act against the common good does society find itself compelled to impose external controls, laws, and institutions to maintain order and prevent chaos.

Shelley's perspective aligns with a tradition of philosophical anarchism and Enlightenment thinking, which holds that in a naturally virtuous and rational society, coercive authority would be unnecessary. Government, under this view, exists not because it is good in itself but because human beings have yet to realize their full moral and intellectual potential. He touches on a utopian ideal: a world in which every individual is "good and wise", in harmony with both conscience and reason, and no longer needs to be governed by external forces. In such a scenario, hierarchical institutions would naturally dissolve, or "decay", because people would govern themselves through mutual respect, empathy, and understanding.

Shelley’s words challenge readers to reflect on their own participation in systems of authority and control. They serve as both an indictment of the abuses and corruption that often accompany power and a call to personal improvement. The existence of government is, for Shelley, a sign of collective failure, a symptom of moral and intellectual immaturity. His vision is optimistic in its faith in human perfectibility but also points to the ongoing tension between individual virtue and social necessity, emphasizing that the road to a freer and more just society begins with the cultivation of goodness and wisdom within each person.