The Law

by Frederic Bastiat

Overview

A logical, concise introduction to Libertarian views, Bastian's call for 'small government' defines the law as a "collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense". He shows how this same law has been perverted, "annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain". As relevant today as when it was written 160 years ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781908388308
Publisher:	Aziloth Books
Publication date:	08/11/2011
Pages:	84
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Frédéric Bastiat was born in Bayonne, Aquitaine, France. When he was nine years old, he was orphaned and became a ward of his father's parents. At age seventeen he left school to become more involved with his family's business as an exporter. Economist Thomas DiLorenzo suggests that this family business experience was crucial to Bastiat's later work because it allowed young Frédéric to acquire first-hand knowledge of some of the effects of trade regulations on the market. Sheldon Richman notes that "he came of age during the Napoleonic wars, with their extensive government intervention in economic affairs."

When Bastiat was twenty-five, his grandfather and benefactor died, leaving the young man the family estate and providing him with the means to further his own theoretical inquiries. His areas of intellectual interest were diverse, including "philosophy, history, politics, religion, travel, poetry, political economy, [and] biography."

His public career as an economist began only in 1844, and was cut short by his untimely death in 1850. Bastiat had contracted tuberculosis, probably during his tours throughout France to promote his ideas, and that illness eventually prevented him from making further speeches (particularly at the legislative assembly to which he was elected in 1848 and 1849) and took his life. Bastiat died in Rome on 24 December 1850.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Law

Life Is a Gift from God

What Is Law?

A Just and Enduring Government

Complete Perversion of the Law

A Fatal Tendency of Mankind

Property and Plunder

Victims of Lawful Plunder

Results of Legal Plunder

Fate of Non-Conformists

Who Shall Judge?

The Reason Why Voting Is Restricted

Answer Is to Restrict the Law

Fatal Idea of Legal Plunder

Perverted Law Causes Conflict

Slavery and Tariffs Are Plunder

Two Kinds of Plunder

Law Defends Plunder

How to Identify Legal Plunder

Legal Plunder Has Many Names

Socialism Is Legal Plunder

The Choice Before Us

The Proper Function of the Law

The Seductive Lure of Socialism

Enforced Fraternity Destroys Liberty

Plunder Violates Ownership

Three Systems of Plunder

Law Is Force

Law Is a Negative Concept

Political Approach

The Law and Charity

The Law and Education

The Law and Morals

A Confusion of Terms

Influence of Socialist Writers

Socialists Wish to Play God

Socialists Despise Mankind

A Defense of Compulsory Labor

A Defense of Paternal Government

The Idea of Passive Mankind

Socialists Ignore Reason and Facts

Socialists Want to Regiment People

A Famous Name and an Evil Idea

A Frightful Idea

Leader of the Democrats

Socialists Want Forced Conformity

Legislators Desire to Mold Mankind

Legislators Told How to Manage Men

A Temporary Dictatorship

Socialists Want Equality of Wealth

The Error of the Socialist Writers

What Is Liberty?

Philanthropic Tyranny

The Socialists Want Dictatorship

Dictatorial Arrogance

The Indirect Approach to Despotism

Napoleon Wanted Passive Mankind

The Vicious Circle of Socialism

Doctrine of the Democrats

Socialist Concept of Liberty

Socialists Fear All Liberties

The Superman Idea

Socialists Reject Free Choice

The Cause of French Revolutions

The Enormous Power of Government

Politics and Economics

Proper Legislative Functions

Law and Charity Are Not the Same

High Road to Communism

Basis for Stable Government

Justice Means Equal Rights

The Path to Dignity and Progress

Proof of an Idea

The Desire to Rule Over Others

Let Us Now Try Liberty

Notes