The Law

The law perverted! Yes this books reveals what the law has been made to do. This is an old book but it is very relevant today, as it shows just how far the law has been perverted because of peoples ignorance of it. A must read!

My Niece teaches in a Home School Group and her young students read this book. They also read Shakespeare and perform in Shakespeare plays as young as 8... Our Education System needs an Overhaul. Here is a good start.

The headline says it all. This is a timeless statement on man’s desire for liberty, autonomy and sovereignty. It belongs in your, and everyone else’s, library.

Bastiat is a good essayist, and his main point is well-taken. One should be careful about social policy, it involves real people. However, some of the things he takes issue with seem to be preoccupations you might expect for the well-to-do in the 19th century. Law is justice. What is justice, though? Bastiat thinks that if a person would do something and it would be considered wrong, then if a government does it, likewise it is wrong [focusing on taking what others have]. This sounds like a sound principle, but falls apart almost immediately upon some inspection. A group may have properties that an individual does not (the famous example being atoms are invisible, but things made of atoms are not necessarily so), and so it seems to me that we can accept governments can do things that we would not individuals to do. It may or may not be true, but the reason cannot come from examples for individuals. For example, we let governments enforce the law and carry-out punishments. Im sure Bastiat would answer that these sorts of things are only the sorts of things that people would agree to, and so it would not be compulsory, but undoubtedly some would not agree, and so then it is not clear what should be done. Perhaps hes right that without a government people will rationally choose to give up things, but my own experience tends to tell me that poor Nash equilibria (such as for air pollution) do occur if we dont have some sort of strong third-party to enforce some standards (usually the government is one of the few entities that can do this). Peoples decisions affect each other in various ways, and so we should be careful about how much we limit others decisions, we have to acknowledge that others choices make a substantial difference to our lives. It should perhaps be of last resort to let governments do these sorts of things, but Bastiat has few concrete examples to let us ponder actual circumstances. Also, free public education is mentioned, (as are almost all taxes) as a type of plunder. Free public education has been fairly important for creating economic wealth. It is not obvious how the supposed harm from taking taxes to support this necessarily outweighs the actual harm of depriving some of education. It seems to simply be a fact that left to our own means, society does not provide for those less fortunate as often as would be beneficial. The argument against philanthropy by the government also does not seem very strong. It could lead to problems, but governments around the world do quite well with all sorts of varying levels of philanthropy. There is a deeper issue, as well. His argument seems to implicitly assume that we know what we own (and so deserve). I dont think it is obvious what we deserve and therefore have a right to own. What sort of things become my property? Land? If this land came from some act of plunder previously, is it still my property? In addition, if my abilities come from natural talents rather than hard work, do I truly deserve it? Is it justice? I think the idea of justice needs to be more strongly motivated. It isnt hard to come up with some reasonable but by no means definitive answers to these questions that are favorable to a Bastiat-like viewpoint, but this is not touched. Bastiat talks clearly of the evil of slavery, but in this short essay he doesnt explore what the consequences are. What is the status of a slave owners (non-human) properties that come through plunder? I think Bastiat is on stronger ground when he cautions about believing leaders who claim they have everyones best interests in mind, and that we should not rush into societal experiments without strong amounts of evidence and experience to guide us. While I personally didnt find Bastiats arguments for such a hands-off government, he does write well, and if you think that you know what property is proper, his arguments are sound enough. It is a short essay, and so it is possible Bastiat answers these questions in other writings.

It is unfortunate that society today has strayed so far from the principles of limited government and as a result we are slowly losing our liberty. The protection of our freedom is paramount in Bastiats call to arms(by casting ignorance aside)against those who would inflict socialisms shackles upon people. Such is the delusion today, one that seeks to spread the wealth while damning us all to support those with vested interests & entitlements. Bastiat states, Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. Law DOES NOT create justice. The role of law is to prevent injustice. Today, Bastiats words ring true, There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious. Our public education has an agenda and it seems to run counter to this book. All we have to do is look at the quality of the students education of today compared to those who were taught before public schools were fully implemented in this country. Sadly lacking to say the least considering the fact that our literacy rate is deplorable compared to the 1800s. Few Harvard graduates today could have entered the Harvard freshman class in the 1600s! *Harvard students then entered college at 16yrs. of age, graduating around 18 or 19! The college graduation requirements back then far exceed the requirements of today. THE LAW should be required reading in every college, unfortunately, due to the political intent of many a university this will probably not occur any time soon. We live in an interesting time, where, with the click of a mouse a question may be answered. Sadly the questions weighing heavily upon the minds of many of our youth lack the gravity of our current situation. More importantly, it shows ignorance or complete disregard for what our forefathers and so many others like Bastiat have established. People with complete lack of regard are enjoying the very fruits of their labor, while allowing the luxury of freedom to slip from our grasp. Bastiats THE LAW is a timeless read that can be easily digested in a day. I strongly recommend this translated edition by Dean Russell. Compare these two translations: Feb 6, 2009 edition from Seven Treasures Publications: Existence, faculties, assimilation - in other words, personality, liberty, property - this is man. It is of these three things that it may be said, apart from all the demagogue subtlety, that they are anterior and superior to all human legislation. Dean Russell translation: Life, faculties, production - in other words, individuality, liberty, property - this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. Keeping a positive attitude he said, And now the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: may they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgement of faith in God and His works. If Bastiat were alive today he would shudder at what has become of his beloved homeland and stare in disbelief at what is becoming of ours. *TEACHING THE TRIVIUM by Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn

This book is not quite as advertised. If youre thinking to yourself, I cant believe I havent heard of such an important book, youre not alone. This book is not about the law: its a political tract that advances the ideas of what we know now as libertarianism, and if it has any authority at all, that authority derives mainly from the fact that this book is so old. If youre expecting something like Henry Hazlitts book on Economics, this is not the book for you. As its introduction suggests, this book is about a political stance, a very far-right political stance, on the law. Its not an introduction or an authoritative document on anything but an ideology. And theres a typo in the one pull-quote on the back of the book. Yikes.

Written nearly two centuries ago, this book is as relevant now as it was at the time of writing. Whether you agree or disagree with Bastiats point of view, this is a great pamphlet to read. It is short, well-structured, and strikingly clear and straightforward. If you want to read just one book on politics and economics, read this one and you wont regret it. If you agree with the book, it will give you one of the strongest arguments to defend your position. If you disagree with the book, it will give you plenty of food for thought. For most of history the law of the land had some religious backing. This is no longer true in the modern world, and this is where Bastiat picks up his argument. The first question that he tries to answer : if not God, what is the source from which the law derives its authority? Bastiats answer: the authority comes from the people, the individuals. But if you derive your authority from individuals, rather than deity, then the limitations of those individuals define boundaries beyond which the law cannot be applied. Ask yourself two questions: is every human being born with a right of being an individual? and should the right of one person being an individual supercede the same right of another? Bastiat answers yes to the first and no to the second and thats where the pamphlet begins. This idea at the core of the book: the law that is based on the power of individuals has limitations. Bastiat speaks mostly of economic violations of that rule - the legal plunder. Those who lived in the next century could point to something far graver - millions of lives taken by socialist tyrants, all within the framework of the law. While some would object that violence against a persons property is not the same as violence against the persons life and liberty, Bastiat argues that the two are related. Towards the end of the book the author makes another important observation: the arrogance of the social engineers is not a consequence of their status or their actions - its a prerequisite. Through a number of examples (and that number only increased in the years since the book was written) Bastiat shows how those who attempt to mold manking through laws view themselves as a breed apart from the rest of humanity. Many things were said about hubris of lawmakers, but few are as logical and eloquent. Plenty of books were written on the topic since and many arguments made on both sides of the divide. Why The Law? First, its one thing to know that the argument against uncontrolled legislation is decades old, its quite another to actually observe the same argument made decades ago. Second, some can write a book that appeals to their contemporaries, but only a few can write a book that transcends their time. Bastiat is one of the latter. Finally, this book is short, well-structured, clear, straightforward, thought-provoking, and as relevant now as it was 160 years ago. Read it, and see for yourself.

Prescient book for what happened to the U.S. At the time this book was written, the author considered the U.S. one of the most just nations, but he described perfectly what happens, and did happen, when you have an increase in the size of government, and the power of the legislators to legally plunder the citizens through the laws they enact.

Read it

To the point! Explains the foundation of law that stands today.