“If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law”
“If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law” is a newly popular quotation that is credited to Winston Churchill (1874-1965). Churchill said the quotation before the House of Commons on February 3, 1949, while talking about Great Britain’s numerous post-war regulations:
“If you destroy a free market you create a black market. If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law.”
The quotation is frequently associated with two errors. Several websites incorrectly claim that the quotation was made in 1931. Also, several websites replace “make” with “have” (“If you have 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law”).
Wikipedia: Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, PC, DL, FRS, Hon. RA (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, best known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, he served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British prime minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature and was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.
Google Books
In the Balance;
Speeches 1949 and 1950
By Winston Churchill
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
1952
Pg. 21:
If you destroy a free market you create a black market. If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law.
Google Books
The Successful Toastmaster;
A Treasure Chest of Introductions, Epigrams, Humor, and Quotations
By Herbert Victor Prochnow
New York, NY: Harper & Row
1966
Pg. 464:
If you destroy a free market you create a black market. If you have 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law. — Winston Churchill
Google Books
Churchill by Himself:
The Definitive Collection of Quotations
Edited by Richard M. Langworth
New York, NY: Public Affairs
2011
Pg. 17:
Free Market
If you destroy a free market you create a black market.
1949, 3 FEBRUARY.
He added “If you have 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law.”
National Churchill Museum
Ten Thousand Regulations
July 24, 2012
(...)
Free Market
“If you destroy a free market you create a black market.”
House of Commons, 1949, 3 FEBRUARY.
He added: “If you make 10,000 regulations you destroy all respect for the law.”
He was arguing against the increasing regulations of industry and commerce by the postwar Labour Government (1945-51).
Richard M. Langworth (Churchill historian)
“10,000 Regulations…Destroy All Respect for the Law”
by RICHARD M. LANGWORTH on 24 JULY 2012
(...)
Jenny, Facebook and Twitter must be the world’s leading sources of false Churchill quotes, so thanks for questioning this one—which is, for a change, right (although his word was “make,” not “have”)….
(...)
He was arguing against the stifling regulations of industry and commerce by the postwar Labour Government (1945-51). Not a lot new under the sun.
IFF Research
A necessary burden?
Rob Warren | Thursday, January 31st, 2013
“If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.” Winston Churchill 1931
Although not one of the great man’s best known quotes this one sums up the attitude of many UK businesses. To state the obvious these are difficult economic times and many businesses are under great pressure just to survive.