Part of: The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat, in 6 Vols. The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 2: The Law, The State, and Other Political Writings, 1843-1850

Volume 2 of a collection of the works of the 19th century French political economist Frédéric Bastiat. This volume contains 19 essays on political theory, including “The State,” “The Law,” and “Property and Plunder.” A detailed glossary contains information about the people, institutions, and ideological issues of his day.

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Citation

The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 2: The Law, The State, and Other Political Writings, 1843-1850, Jacques de Guenin, General Editor. Translated from the French by Jane Willems and Michel Willems, with an introduction by Pascal Salin. Annotations and Glossaries by Jacques de Guenin, Jean-Claude Paul-Dejean, and David M. Hart. Translation Editor Dennis O’Keeffe. Academic Editor, David M. Hart (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2012).

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Richard Cobden (Author)

Richard Cobden was a British politician, manufacturer, and avid campaigner for free trade. Bastiat looked to Cobden as a guide to promote French liberalism and free trade. The two eventually became friends, with Bastiat spending time in England with Cobden.

Key Quotes

Law

It is not because men have enacted laws that personality, freedom, and property exist. On the contrary, it is because personality, freedom, and property are already in existence that men enact laws. What is the law, then? As I have said elsewhere, it is the collective organization of the individual…

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Critical Responses

The Bastiat-Proudhon Debate on Interest

In 1849-1850, Bastiat and Proudhon engaged in a debate on interest in Proudhon’s newspaper The Voice of the People. These debates formed the foundations of some of Bastiat’s writings in this volume, as well as the critiques from one of his main interlocutors.

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Critique of Bastiat and Carey

Karl Marx

In this chapter, Karl Marx addresses several of Bastiat’s claims against socialism. This would be one of the final critiques of Bastiat, as he would fade into general obscurity shortly thereafter.

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Connected Readings

The Law

Perhaps Bastiat’s most famous political piece, The Law succinctly outlines Bastiat’s vision of the role of government in a liberal society. Government exists mainly as a protective entity. It can become abusive when it turns to more distributive goals. Law, then, can become corrupt and support “…

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Liberty Matters

Bastiat and Political Economy

Robert Leroux, Donald Boudreaux, David Hart, and Michael Munger

This Liberty Matters conversation focuses on the question: to what extent was Bastiat a significant theorist? Or was he mainly an orator and popularizer? The contributions are from four significant Bastiat scholars from multiple disciplines: Robert Leroux (historian and sociologist), Donald…

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Book

Political Economy and Liberalism in France

Robert Leroux

This book represents one of the few complete studies of Bastiat’s political thought. Leroux digs deep into the unstable political situation throughout Bastiat’s life, including his time as a revolutionary. By placing Bastiat into the context of political upheaval in France and the debates in the…

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