Frederic Bastiat, Must Read Posts From “The Law”

Inaugural Post - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Frederic Bastiat, Statesman, Essayist and Economist, was a renowned champion of individual freedom. In 1850 he published his most famous and enduring work, “The Law.” Bastiat, like others, recognized that the greatest single threat to liberty is government. Like the signers of our Declaration of Independence, Bastiat echoes their vision, saying, “…these three gifts [life, liberty and property] from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. Life, liberty and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it is the fact that life, liberty and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” [more]

http://www.forfreedomssake.com/blog/2009/02/will-we-become-victims-of-lawful-plunder/

As I continue to revisit Frederic Bastiat and his outstanding work, “The Law” one cannot help but benefit by his insights on the nature of man and the problems presented by our acting in unjust manners as it comes to the public square. Although, his insights were penned in 1850, Bastiat’s warnings are relevant…[more]

The Results of Legal Plunder

It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder. [Emphasis added]
What are the consequences of such a perversion? It would require volumes to describe them all. Thus we must content ourselves with pointing out the [more]

This Question of Legal Plunder Must be Settled Once and For All

Since the encroachment of tyranny, on our freedoms, moves slowly over time, we may not even be aware of what is taking place and we may be fully accepting of the government’s desire to “solve today’s crisis” without questioning the real costs to the individuals, who are not the targets of the “help,” but who will pay the cost nonetheless…[more]

Legal Plunder and Socialist Utopias

Frederic Bastiat, in his monumental work, “The Law” makes the case, that once we go down the path of using the law to violate liberty and private property, in the name of equality, there is no stopping it. He asks the question, “Once started, where will you stop? And where will the law stop itself”” [more]