Bastiat is among my most favorite writers in the entire history of economic thought.
His small book, The Law, is essential reading for anyone who wants to make sense of the world.
You can find THe Law at the following web link address:
born 1801, died 1850.
Following are a few highlights of what Bastiat says (in my intepretation/words) in The Law:
Democracy and voting only matters when the government gets in the game of choosing winners and losers in society via (well intended) regluations, taxes and interventions of all sorts.
If the government limited its role to protecting individual private property rights equally under the law, then we wouldn't need to worry about who gets suffrage.
however, when the government decides social and/or economic outcomes (as it does in modern society), then suffrage becomes hugely important because suffrage is a way for special interest groups to maximize their ability to extract rent seeking opportunities (free lunches and handouts and subsidies, etc.) from society via the ballot box.
Once one special groups gets suffrage, then it is only a matter of time before other groups attempt to gain rent seeking opportunities through suffrage and so on. in this way the principle of democracy becomes bastardized by special interest groups all vying for access to the vote (so they can vote themselves special preferences).
IF we put our faith in government to solve social problems, we create a receptive environment for the spontaneous development of money politics. Money politics follows government intervention like day follows night.
Big business does not favor "free markets."' Big business favors money politics and government intervention because big business will always win in the game of money politics. If you want to help the little guy, do not do it with direct government intervention. Protect the interests of the little guy by limiting government to ensruing the equal treatment of all under the law.
There are trade offs in life. Life is not fair. The government can only provide free lunches to some at the expense of others; government cannot provide free lunches to society no matter how good the intentions.
Bottom line: well intended government interventions are self defeating. Don't believe politicians "selling" free lunches. you will pay one way or the other for government provided goodies.
Here are a couple of related quotes from other great thinkers that remind me of Bastiat
“Those willing to give up liberty for safety deserve neither.” Ben Franklin
"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Action
Primum non nocere (which means "First, do no harm"). part of Hippocratic Oath ... p
oliticians should follow the same precept.
see wikipedia entry for basic biographical sketch.
oliticians should follow the same precept.
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