Archive for Frederic Bastiat
What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen
This excerpt is from the first chapter of Selected Essays on Political Economy, translated by Seymour Cain and edited by George B. de Huszar, published by the Foundation for Economic Education. In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these [...]
1Jun2001 | Frederic Bastiat | 93 comments | ContinuedWar
Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, free-trade activist, and member of the French legislature after the Revolution of 1848. This is a chapter from his treatise, Economic Harmonies, translated by W. Hayden Boyers, which along with his other works is available from FEE. Among all the circumstances that have some part in giving to [...]
1Jun2000 | Frederic Bastiat | 2 comments | ContinuedThe Motive Force of Society
The role of man in a harmonious universe.
1Apr1974 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedSomething Else
When it comes to protectionism, are we better able than Robinson Crusoe to see its fallacy?
1May1973 | Frederic Bastiat | 1 comment | ContinuedShould Teen-agers Vote?
If voting is restricted, the reason is that each vote touches and affects everyone in the entire community.
1Jun1970 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedThe State
Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) was an economist, statesman, and author during a period when France was drifting rapidly toward socialism. His clear description of that trend and its evil consequences, written in 1849, merits serious consideration in the United States of America today. Frederic Bastiat I wish someone would offer a prize—not of a hundred francs [...]
1Apr1965 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedJustice Versus Restrictions On Trade
Come with me into one of those wooden cabins that cling to the French side of the Pyrenees [in 1846]. We discover that the father of the family has not been able to earn much in that mountainous section of the country. His poorly-clothed children shiver in the icy blast. The fire is out and [...]
1Apr1958 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Candlemaker’s Petition
We candelmakers are suffering from the unfair competition of a foreign rival. This foreign manufacturer of light has such an advantage over us that he floods our domestic markets with his product. And he offers it at a fantastically low price. The moment this foreigner appears in our country, all our customers desert us and [...]
1Mar1958 | Frederic Bastiat | 1 comment | ContinuedHow to Work More and Have Less
Do you remember how Robinson Crusoe made a plank on his desert island? Since he had no saw, he used his axe to cut down a tree. Then he chopped the trunk of the tree, first on one side and then on the other, until he reduced it to the desired thickness. This plank cost [...]
1Feb1958 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedRobinson Crusoe and Free Trade
Robinson Crusoe discovered that his island was suitable for both hunting and agriculture. So he and Friday soon developed a 12-hour work schedule that ensured them an adequate supply of food. But it is not generally known that they once had an opportunity to secure the same amount of food at a 25 per cent [...]
1Jan1958 | Frederic Bastiat | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Tax Collector
Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850), French economist, statesman, and author, was quite as perturbed by the demands of the nineteenth century tax collector as are many citizens today. SCENE: A wine cellar in France CHARACTERS: Jacques Bonhomme, Vine-grower M. Lasouche, Tax Collector L. You have secured twenty tuns of wine? J. [...]
1Nov1956 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedThe State
Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) was an economist, statesman, and author during a period when France was drifting rapidly toward socialism. His clear description of that trend and its evil consequences, written in 1849, merits serious consideration in the United States of America today. I wish someone would offer a prize—not of a hundred francs but of [...]
1Nov1955 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | ContinuedFreedom In Transactions
In 1848, a French legislator tried to tell his countrymen how the God-given self-interest of each person benefits the welfare of the group On entering Paris, which I had come to visit, I said to myself—Here are a million of human beings who would all die in a short time if provisions of every kind [...]
1May1955 | Frederic Bastiat | 0 comments | Continued-
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