[...]... gained by the providers of the comedians, they ought on the other to have seen the salaries lost by the providers of the That Which is Seen qxd 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page 16 16 The Bastiat Collection taxpayers: for want of this, they have exposed themselves to ridicule by mistaking a displacement for a gain If they were true to their doctrine, there would be no limits to their demands for government aid; for... on this account they ought to have your sympathies.” Your sympathies! Say rather your money And further on he says: The pleasures of Paris are the labor and the consumption of the provinces, and the luxuries of the rich are the wages and bread of 200,000 workmen of every description, who live by the manifold industry of the theatres on the surfeit of the republic, and who receive from these noble pleasures,... 6Joseph T Salerno, The Neglect of Bastiat s School by English-Speaking Economists: A Puzzle Resolved,” Journal des Économistes et des Etudes Humaines 11 , no 2/3 (June/September 20 01) , pp 4 51 95 Intro to collection. qxd xiv 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page xiv The Bastiat Collection nineteenth century and leader of the Free Kirk schism from the Church of Scotland Stirling was the author of The Philosophy of Trade,... in 18 31 and to the Council General (county-level assembly) in 18 32 He was elected to the national legislative assembly after the French Revolution of 18 48 Bastiat was inspired by and routinely corresponded with Richard Cobden and the English Anti-Corn Law League and worked with free-trade associations in France Bastiat wrote sporadically starting in the 18 30s, but in 18 44 he launched ix Intro to collection. qxd... and against the system of government assistance: The reader must see that the object of this That Which is Seen qxd 14 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page 14 The Bastiat Collection work leads me neither to explain these reasons, nor to decide in their favor, nor against them But Mr Lamartine has advanced one argument which I cannot pass by in silence, for it is closely connected with this economic study The economical... 17 Fould and Bineau? In order that the evolution may be complete, as it is said, must not the State organize the receipts as well as the expenditure? Must it not set its tax-gatherers and taxpayers to work, the former to gather and the latter to pay? Study the question, now, in both its elements While you state the destination given by the State to the millions voted, do not neglect to state also the. .. nothing else, they will not believe—as is often claimed—that earthquakes, hurricanes, and wars lead to prosperity The remaining essays cover the important institutions of society—law, government, money, and capital—where Bastiat explains the nature of these institutions and 3Ibid., p 445 Intro to collection. qxd xii 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page xii The Bastiat Collection disabuses the reader of all the common... translators—and so many more—is contained in this collection If we were to take the greatest economists from all ages and judge them on the basis of their theoretical rigor, their influence on economic education, and their impact in support of the freemarket economy, then Frédéric Bastiat would be at the top of the list As Murray N Rothbard noted: Bastiat was indeed a lucid and superb writer, whose brilliant and... when the immediate consequence is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal, and the converse Hence it follows that the bad economist pursues a small present good, which will be followed by a great evil to come, while the true economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil 1First published in 18 50 1 That Which is Seen qxd 2 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page 2 The Bastiat Collection. .. on the Committee of Finance Every time that one of our colleagues spoke of fixing at a moderate figure the maintenance of the President of the Republic, that of the ministers, and of the ambassadors, it was answered: “For the good of the service, it is necessary to surround certain offices with splendor and dignity, as a means of attracting That Which is Seen qxd 10 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page 10 The Bastiat . and judge them on the basis of their theoretical rigor, their influence on economic education, and their impact in support of the free- market economy, then Frédéric Bastiat would be at the top of the list . .367 9. The Premium Theft—Robbery by Subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . .3 71 10. The Tax Gatherer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 81 11. Protection; or, The Three City. h0" alt="" T HE BASTIAT COLLECTION 2 VOLUMES Front matter.qxd 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page i Front matter.qxd 7/6/2007 10 :58 AM Page ii T HE BASTIAT COLLECTION 2 VOLUMES FRÉDÉRIC BASTIAT Ludwig von