Frédéric Bastiat

1801–1850
Nationality: French
Historical Period: The 19th Century
Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) was one of the leading advocates of free markets and free trade in the mid-19th century. He was inspired by the activities of Richard Cobden and the organization of the Anti-Corn Law League in Britain in the 1840s and tried to mimic their success in France. Bastiat was an elected member of various French political bodies and opposed both protection and the rise of socialist ideas in these forums. His writings for a broader audience were very popular and were quickly translated and republished in the U.S. and throughout Europe. His incomplete magnum opus, Economic Harmonies, is full of insights into the operation of the market and is still of great interest to economists. He died at a young age from cancer of the throat. [The image comes from “The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.”]
See also our collection of extracts, essays, and other resources about Bastiat.
See the Liberty Matters online discussions on Bastiat and Political Economy and Reassessing Bastiat’s Economic Harmonies After 160 Years
For additional information about Frédéric Bastiat see the following: * in the Forum: Essays on Bastiat * at our sister website Econlib: the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics entry on Bastiat
See Quotes from Frédéric Bastiat:
- Frédéric Bastiat on the state as the great fiction
- Frédéric Bastiat on the nature of war
- Frédéric Bastiat on socialists and the “social machine”
- Frédéric Bastiat on Malthusian theory of the growth of the state
- Frédéric Bastiat on socialism hides its true plunderous nature
- Frédéric Bastiat on the theory of plunder
- Frédéric Bastiat on standing armies vs. local militias
- Frédéric Bastiat asks what came first, property or law?
- Frédéric Bastiat on a utopian dream of reducing the size of the French state
- Frédéric Bastiat the 1830 Revolution, and the Spilling of Wine not Blood
- Frédéric Bastiat on trade as a the mutual exchange
- Frédéric Bastiat on the freedom, to work and to trade
- Frédéric Bastiat on the spirit of free trade as a reform of the mind itself
- Frédéric Bastiat on the state vs. laissez-faire
- Frédéric Bastiat on the many freedoms that make up liberty
- Frédéric Bastiat on the scramble for political office
- Frédéric Bastiat on the need for urgent political and economic reform
- Frédéric Bastiat on the fact that even in revolution there is an indestructible principle of order in the human heart
- Frédéric Bastiat asks what should be the size of the state?
- Frédéric Bastiat and the state as “la grande fiction à travers laquelle Tout Le Monde s'efforce de vivre aux dépens de Tout Le Monde
For tables of contents of Bastiat’s Works:
- table of contents of the Guillaumin edition of the Works (in French)
- table of contents of LF’s translation (in English)
- table of contents of LF’s translation (in French)
- chronological list of Bastiat’s works
See the Timeline of the Life and Work of Frédéric Bastiat:
- Expanded and enlarged Timeline Part 1 (1801-1844) 123 KB PDF
- Expanded and enlarged Timeline Part 2 (1844-1850) 82 KB PDF
- JPG (1200 px, 410 KB)
- PDF (45 KB)
Titles from Frédéric Bastiat:
- Author: Armonias Economicas
- Author: The Best of Bastiat
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 1.1: A Life in Letters
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 1.2: Bastiat the Revolutionary Part 1
- Author: The Best of Bastiat1.3: Bastiat the Revolutionary Part 2
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 2.1: The State
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 2.2: Property Plunder
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 2.3: The Law
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 3.1: Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 3.2: The Broken Window
- Author: The Best of Bastiat 3.3: The Utopian
- Author: The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat, in 6 Vols.
- Author: The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 1: The Man and the Statesman: The Correspondence and Articles on Politics
- Author: The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 2: The Law, The State, and Other Political Writings, 1843-1850
- Author: The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 3: Economic Sophisms and “What is Seen and What is Not Seen”
- Author: Economic Harmonies (FEE ed.)
- Author: Economic Sophisms (FEE ed.)
- Author: The Law (FEE ed.)
- Author: The Law (revised LF ed.)
- Author: Lettres d’un habitant des Landes
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. 6 vols.
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol 1 Correspondance. Mélanges
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol. 2 Le libre-échange
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol. 3 Cobden et la ligue
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol. 4 Sophismes économiques. Petits pamphlets I
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol. 5 Sophismes économiques. Petits pamphlets II
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 1st ed. vol. 6 Harmonies économiques
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. 7 vols.
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 1 Correspondance et mélanges
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 2 le Libre-Échange
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 3 Cobden et La Ligue
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 4 Sophismes Économiques. Petits pamphlets I
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 5: Sophismes économiques. Petits pamphlets II
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 6: Harmonies économiques
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 2nd ed. vol. 7 Essais, Ébauches, Correspondance
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 3rd ed. 7 vols
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 3rd ed. vol. 4 Sophismes économiques et Petits pamphlets I
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 3rd ed. vol. 5 Sophismes économiques et Petits pamphlets II
- Author: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, 3rd ed. vol. 6 Harmonies économiques
- Author: Selected Essays on Political Economy (FEE ed.)
- Author: The State (revised LF ed.)