Government was described by Thomas Paine in Common Sense (1776) as at best a “necessary evil.” Many people who choose between Democrats and Republicans at the voting booth choose “the lesser of two evils.”
 
“The belief that Government is a necessary evil ... is a belief that Evil is necessary” was posted on Twitter by Arm Britain on February 17, 2013. “‘The belief that government is a necessary evil is a belief that evil is necessary.’ - (via thinksquad) http://tmblr.co/ZQcEltiZ2fa0” was posted on Twitter by greg on April 12, 2013. “THE BELIEF THAT GOVERNMENT IS A NECESSARY EVIL IS A BELIEF THAT EVIL IS NECESSARY” (shown on an image by Think Squad) was posted on Twitter by Kyle on November 9, 2015. The meme from Think Squad popularized the saying.
 
       
Wikipedia: Necessary evil
A necessary evil is an evil that someone believes must be done or accepted because it is necessary to achieve a better outcome—especially because possible alternative courses of action or inaction are expected to be worse. It is the “lesser evil” in the lesser of two evils principle, which maintains that given two bad choices, the one that is least bad is the better choice.
 
History
The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins asserts that “[t]he idea of a necessary evil goes back to Greek”, describing the first necessary evil as marriage, and further stating that, “The first example in English, from 1547, refers to a woman”. Thomas Fuller, in his 1642 work, The Holy State and the Profane State, made another of the earliest recorded uses of the phrase when he described the court jester as something that “...some count a necessary evil in a Court”. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine described government as at best a “necessary evil”.
       
Wikiquote: Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (February 9, 1737 [O.S. January 29, 1736] – 8 June 1809) was a British-American political writer, theorist, and activist who had a great influence on the thoughts and ideas which led to the American Revolution and the United States Declaration of Independence. He wrote three of the most influential and controversial works of the 18th Century: Common Sense, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era ideals of transnational human rights.
(...)
Common Sense (1776)         
Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
 
Googel Books
The Great Experiment:
An Intimate View of the Everyday Workings of the Federal Government
By John Downing Weaver
Boston, MA: Little, Brown
1965
Pg. 5:
The Republic was born with the belief that government is a necessary evil, at its best when it governs least.
 
Google Groups: alt.paranet.ufo
Whats going on at Area 51 ? Dioxin Stew?
AussieYank
Jul 23, 1996, 3:00:00 AM
(...) 
Americans are raised with the belief that government is a necessary evil and that eternal vigilance of their government a requirement Americans to not take lightly (I know, I used to teach US History that way).
       
Google Groups: rec.arts.sf.written
In memory of New Orleans
lewy
Oct 7, 2005, 5:39:19 AM
(...)
For me, libertarianism is the belief that government is a necessary evil and as such should be kept as small as possible.
     
Twitter
Arm Britain
@ArmBritain
The belief that Government is a necessary evil ... is a belief that Evil is necessary.
3:33 AM · Feb 17, 2013
   
Twitter
greg
@TaoistSoul
“The belief that government is a necessary evil is a belief that evil is necessary.” - (via thinksquad) http://tmblr.co/ZQcEltiZ2fa0
10:52 PM · Apr 12, 2013
   
Twitter
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@swishymcjackass
“The belief that government is a necessary evil is a belief that evil is necessary.” - (via thinksquad) http://tmblr.co/ZYMeYyjKvaoi
11:31 PM · Apr 22, 2013
 
Instagram
worldimmigrant
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
(The following text is shown on an image, probably from Think Squad.—ed.)
THE BELIEF THAT
GOVERNMENT
IS A
NECESSARY EVIL
IS A BELIEF
THAT EVIL
IS NECESSARY
   
Twitter
Robin
@liberty_robin
The belief that government is a necessary evil…
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
THE BELIEF
THAT GOVERNMENT
IS A NECESSARY EVIL
IS A BELIEF
THAT EVIL IS
NECESSARY
TONYSTILES.COM
2:21 AM · Aug 8, 2014
 
Twitter
Kyle
@ShiftyPineapple
The belief that #Government is a necessary #Evil is a belief that evil is necessary…
(The following text is shown on an image from Think Squad.—ed.)
THE BELIEF THAT
GOVERNMENT
IS A
NECESSARY EVIL
IS A BELIEF
THAT EVIL
IS NECESSARY
2:09 PM · Nov 9, 2015
 
Twitter
Kyle
@ShiftyPineapple
The belief that #government is a necessary evil is a belief that #evil is necessary… Via @MuricaToday
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
THE BELIEF THAT GOVERNMENT
IS A NECESSARY EVIL
IS A BELIEF THAT EVIL IS NECESSARY
3:45 PM · Nov 13, 2015
 
Twitter
Roger Ver
@rogerkver
The belief that government is a necessary evil is the belief that evil is necessary.
4:27 PM · Apr 29, 2019 from London, England
 
Twitter
#WeMUSTUnite
@WeMUSTUnite2
The belief that GOVERNMENT is a necessary EVIL, is the belief that EVIL is necessary.
~~~JOSIE OUTLAW
8:18 AM · Dec 22, 2021
 
Twitter
KP
@ItsPatyToYou
THE BELIEF THAT GOVERNMENT IS A NECESSARY EVIL, IS A BELIEF THAT EVIL IS NECESSARY.
3:37 PM · Dec 26, 2022
 
Twitter
Noel Olinde
@TheCajunLibert1
The existence of the state REQUIRES violence.
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
THE BELIEF THAT
GOVERNMENT
IS A
NECESSARY EVIL
IS A BELIEF
THAT EVIL
IS NECESSARY
3:42 PM · Jun 9, 2023