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A man (and the same thing may be said of a people) may pro­cure the means of existence in two ways,—by creating them, or by stealing them. Each of these two great sources of acquisition presents a variety of methods. We may create the means of existence by the chase, by fishing, by agriculture, etc. We may steal them by breach of trust, by

The law perverted! How has this been accomplished? The right to assistance, the poor man’s plunder Partial and universal plunder Explaining plunder. Socialism confounds Government and society. Bossuet | Fenelon | Montesquieu | Rousseau | Raynal | Mably | Condillac | Saint-Just | Robespierre | Billaud Varennes | Lepelletier What sort of liberty

[From “That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen,” included in The Bastiat Collection .] “Neither industry in general, nor the sum total of national labor, is affected, whether windows are broken or not.” Have you ever witnessed the anger of the good shopkeeper, James B., when his careless son happened to break a square of glass? If you have

[From “That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen,” included in  The Bastiat Collection .] Have you never chanced to hear it said, “There is no better investment than taxes. Only see what a number of families it maintains, and consider how it reacts upon industry: it is an inexhaustible stream, it is life itself.” In order to combat this

Ought the state to support the arts? There is certainly much to be said on both sides of this question. It may be said, in favor of the system of voting supplies for this purpose, that the arts enlarge, elevate, and harmonize the soul of a nation; that they divert it from too great an absorption in material occupations; encourage in it a love for

“When a farmer borrows fifty francs to buy a plow, it is not, in reality, the fifty francs which are lent to him, but the plow; and when a merchant borrows 20,000 francs to purchase a house, it is not the 20,000 francs which he owes, but the house. Money only appears for the sake of facilitating the arrangements between the parties.” In all times,

Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles, Waxlights, Lamps, Candlelights, Street Lamps, Snuffers, Extinguishers, and the Producers of Oil, Tallow, Resin, Alcohol, and, Generally, of Everything Connected with Lighting To the Members of the Chamber of Deputies. Gentlemen: You are on the right road. You reject abstract theories, and have little

  Volume 5, No. 3 (Fall 2002)   The State applies itself to loading everybody’s brain with prejudices, and everybody’s heart with sentiments favorable to the spirit of anarchy, war, and hatred; so that, when a doctrine of order, peace, and union presents itself, it is in vain that it has clearness and truth on its side,—it cannot gain admittance. 

I have said that when, unfortunately, one has regard to the interest of the producer — and not to that of the consumer — it is impossible to avoid running counter to the general interest, because the demand of the producer as such is only for efforts, wants, and obstacles. I find a remarkable illustration of this in a Bordeaux newspaper. Mr.

T he Bastiat Collection (2011). An MP3 audio file of this article, narrated by Holly Hinton and Joel Sams, is available for download .   Hateful money! Hateful money!” cried F——, the economist, despairingly, as he came from the Committee of Finance, where a project of paper money had just been discussed. “What’s the matter?” I said. “What is the