-I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind — that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.
-I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.
-I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty...
-I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.
-I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech...
-I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.
-I believe in the reality of progress.
-But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie.
-I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.
Because governments believe that once they're out of the way, there would be chaos and people would harm each other endlessly.
And what is immortality? Continuity of one single life? Or life as a whole (the universe, humankind, etc.)?
Well of course chaos being natural human behavior is a common misconception that most people have. If this was a world where everyone wasn't told to just look out for them self, that notion would be hardly even worth considering as a possibility.
By immortality I would assume he means an afterlife seeing he references superstitions. Though without the superstitious context it could apply to nearly any immortal human concept. Maybe even nationalism if you stretch the meaning since nationalists seem to think their nation is the best thing to have ever graced the face of the planet, but the fact is that nation most likely will not exist in a millenia or two.
"Because governments believe that once they're out of the way, there would be chaos and people would harm each other endlessly."
So do I. For example, despite our Canadian stereotype of being peaceful and goofy, it was not really applicable to the massive manifestation of idiots who vandalized store and other private property alike in Vancouver when the Vancouver cannuck lost the finals.
Some people lack of the so-called common sense.
"And what is immortality? Continuity of one single life? Or life as a whole (the universe, humankind, etc.)?" Very clever feillyne =).