The Online Library of Liberty

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• About the Author
• Preface to the English-language Edition
• Bibliographical Notice
• Introduction
• To the Youth of France
• 1: Natural and Artificial Social Order1
• 2: Wants, Efforts, Satisfactions1
• 3: Man's Wants
• 4: Exchange
• 5: On Value
• 6: Wealth
• 7: Capital
• 8: Private Property and Common Wealth
• 9: Landed Property
• 10: Competition
• 11: Producer and Consumer
• 12: The Two Mottoes
• 13: Rent1
• 14: Wages
• 15: Saving
• 16: Population
• 17: Private and Public Services
• 18: Disturbing Factors
• 19: War
• 20: Responsibility
• 21: Solidarity
• 22: The Motive Force of Society
• 23: Evil
• 24: Perfectibility
• 25: Relations of Political Economy With Ethics, Politics, Legislation, and Religion1
• Appendix a Tentative Preface to the Harmonies1
• About the Publisher
• Additional Books By Frédéric Bastiat
• The Law
• Selected Essays On Political Economy
• Economic Sophisms
• Suggestions For Further Study

Preface to the English-Language Edition

Frédéric Bastiat has said that the Harmonies is a counterpart to Economic Sophisms, and, while the latter pulls down, the Harmonies builds up. Charles Gide and Charles Rist in a standard treatise, A History of Economic Doctrines, have referred to “the beautiful unity of conception of the Harmonies,” and added, “we are by no means certain that the Harmonies and the Pamphlets are not still the best books that a young student of political economy can possibly read.”

Unfortunately the Harmonies after chapter 10 are unfinished fragments and therefore are filled with repetitions which Bastiat would have corrected had he lived. It is also important to keep in mind that parts of the Harmonies were first given as speeches.

This translation follows as faithfully as possible the original French standard edition of the complete works of Bastiat. Cross references have been included among the three volumes of the present translation.

Three types of notes are included: Translator's notes are directed at the general reader and are mainly about persons and terms. Editor's notes refer to notes by the editor of the French edition; Bastiat's notes stand without such notations. Only the Translator's notes are at the bottom of the page; the Editor's notes and Bastiat's notes are at the end of the volume. The latter two are more important but were put in the back to avoid cluttering the pages and to promote readability. Where the French editor has indicated a cross reference to a chapter or passage in Economic Sophisms or to any of the pamphlets or speeches included in Selected Essays on Political Economy, the original reference to the French edition has been replaced by one directing the reader to the English translation.

Although these three volumes of English translations of Bastiat are published simultaneously, there is some repetition of the Translator's notes and the editorial Prefaces. This is necessary because some may obtain only one volume of this three-volume series, and therefore each volume has been made as self-sufficient as possible.

The Editor wishes to express his appreciation to W. Hayden Boyers, to Dean Russell for writing the Introduction, to Arthur Goddard, and to the William Volker Fund.

George B. de Huszar