One of the strangest phenomena of... - Frédéric Bastiat - Quotes.Pub

One of the strangest phenomena of our time, and one that will probably be a matter of astonishment to our descendants, is the doctrine which is founded upon this triple hypothesis: the radical passiveness of mankind,— the omnipotence of the law,—the infallibility of the legislator: this is the sacred symbol of the party that proclaims itself exclusively democratic.

The law Quotes

Frédéric Bastiat Quotes

Law and Charity Are Not the Same.

Let us first of all frugality in government-peace and freedom we will have as a bonus.

Firsts Quotes

And this is what has taken place. The delusion of the day is to enrich all classes at the expense of each other; it is to generalize plunder under pretense of organizing it.

Try to imagine a system of labor imposed by force that is not a violation of liberty; a transfer of wealth imposed by force that is not a violation of property rights. If you cannot do so, then you must agree that the law cannot organize labor and industry without organizing injustice.

Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the service of the plunderers, and treats the victim – when he defends himself – as a criminal.

We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is life – physical, intellectual, and moral life.

The balance of trade is an article of faith.

As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose – that it may violate property instead of protecting it – then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder.

It is easier to show the disorder that must accompany reform than the order that should follow it.

Is not liberty the destruction of all despotism – including, of course, legal despotism?

Why don’t you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough.

It’s always tempting to do good at someone else’s expense.

They would be the shepherds over us, their sheep. Certainly such an arrangement presupposes that they are naturally superior to the rest of us. And certainly we are fully justified in demanding from the legislators and organizers proof of this natural superiority.

Man acquires wealth in proportion as he puts his labor to better account.

Liberty is an acknowledgement of faith in God and his works.

If everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, social progress would be ceaseless, uninterrupted, and unfailing.

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor.

We cannot doubt that self-interest is the mainspring of human nature. It must be clearly understood that this word is used here to designate a universal, incontestable fact, resulting from the nature of man, and not an adverse judgment, as would be the word selfishness.

Law cannot organize labor and industry without organizing injustice.

Countries which enjoy the highest level of peace, happiness and prosperity are the ones where the law least interfered with private affairs.

Property, the right to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor, the right to work, to develop, to exercise one’s faculties, according to one’s own understanding, without the state intervening otherwise than by its protective action; this is what is meant by liberty.

There is in all of a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons have erroneously held that things are “just” because the law makes them so.

Strong Quotes

Legal plunder has two roots: One, as we have just seen, is in human selfishness; the other is in false philanthropy.

If you wish to prosper, let your customer prosper.

Treat all economic questions from the viewpoint of the consumer, for the interests of the consumer are the interests of the human race.

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