“BASTIAT'S RHETORIC OF LIBERTY:
THE USE OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN HIS ECONOMIC WRITINGS”

By David M. Hart

[Created: 15 July, 2023] [Revised: 8 July, 2024]

 

Editor's Note

This paper is an expansion and reworking of three papers I have written on Bastiat "rhetoric of liberty" and is use of literature in his major writings on economics, namely the Economic Sophisms and Economic Harmonies:

• a paper originally written for the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia (HETSA) annual meeting, RMIT Melbourne, Victoria (July, 2011): "Opposing Economic Fallacies, Legal Plunder, and the State: Frédéric Bastiat’s Rhetoric of Liberty in the Economic Sophisms (1846-1850)" [Online]
• two papers originally written for the Association of Private Enterprise Education
  International Conference (April, 2015), Cancún, Mexico
  • "Literature IN Economics, and Economics AS Literature I: Bastiat’s use of Literature in the defense of Free Markets and his Rhetoric of Economic Liberty" (2015) [Online].
  • "Literature in Economics, and Economics as Literature II: The Economics of Robinson Crusoe from Defoe to Rothbard by way of Bastiat" (2015) [Online].

Abstract

This paper examines the unique style of writing about economic matters which Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) developed in the period between 1845 and 1850 in his writings opposing the policies of protectionism and subsidies to industry by the French government - his "rhetoric of liberty" - and his use of literature in both his journalism (the Economic Sophisms) and his theoretical treatise on economics Economic Harmonies.

I begin by examining the origin, content, and form of Bastiat's Economic Sophisms (1846, 1848). It is argued that in opposing the economic "sophisms" which he saw around him Bastiat developed a unique "rhetoric of liberty" in order to make his case for economic liberty. For the idea of debunking "fallacies", he drew upon the work of Jeremy Bentham on "political fallacies" and Col. Perronet Thomas on "corn law fallacies"; for his use of informal "conversations" to appeal to less well-informed readers, he drew upon the work of two women popularizers of economic ideas, Jane Marcet and Harriet Martineau.

Another original contribution is Bastiat's clever use of short and witty economic "fables" and fictional letters written to political leaders. In many of these apparently "simple" fables Bastiat's draws upon classical French literature (Molière and La Fontaine) as well as contemporary political songs and poems (written by "goguettiers" like his contemporary Béranger) to make serious economic arguments in a very witty and unique manner. Bastiat's self-declared purpose was to make the study of economics less "dry and dull" and to use "the sting of ridicule" to expose the widespread misunderstanding of economic ideas. The result is what Friedrich Hayek correctly described as an economic "publicist of genius".

Particularly noteworthy in his "economic story telling" was his use of the folk character Jacques Bonhomme, or the French everyman, who became an important character in many of his stories where he defended economic liberty as only a wiley French peasant or artisan could do, and who then became Bastiat’s virtual alter ego during the most violent and revolutionary phase of the 1848 Revolution.

One of Bastiat's original contributions to economic theory was the use of Robinson Crusoe from Defoe’s novel to invent an entirely new way of doing economics - “Crusoe economics” - which was a major innovation in the way economists think about how individuals like Robinson Crusoe go about ordering his economic priorities and deciding what his opportunity costs are in making economic decisions about scarce resources. This approach later became the foundation of “praxeology” in the Austrian school of economic theory.

In both of these areas, his new ways of popularizing economics and his invention of “Crusoe economics”, Bastiat has shown us how we might use "literature in economics" and do “economics as literature.”

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Bastiat on Economics and Literature
• Journalism and the Beginning of the "Sophisms"
• The Format of the Economic Sophisms
• The Purpose of the Economic Sophisms
• Other "Sophisms" written and unwritten
• The Intellectual Origins of Bastiat's Attack on Economic "Sophisms" and "Fallacies"
• Bastiat's Rhetoric of Liberty
• Bastiat's use of Literature to illustrate Economic Arguments
• Bastiat's Language of Economic Analysis: From Popular Sayings to Technical Terminology
• Bastiat's Invention of his own Economic Stories I
• Bastiat's' Invention of his Own Economic Stories II: "Crusoe Economics"
• The Use of Stories in Economic Harmonies
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1: A List of the Sophisms by Type of Sophism/Fallacy being Opposed
• Appendix 2: A List of the Sophisms by Format
• Appendix 3: Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Frédéric Bastiat
• Endnotes
• Bibliography

Introduction: Bastiat on Economics and Literature

The work of the mid-19th century French economic journalist and theorist Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) [1] provides an important case study of the sometimes close relationship between economics and literature. [2] In his case it is particularly strong as he was well "versed" in the classics of French literature, such as the fable writer Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695), the playwright “Molière” or Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622- 1673), and the playwright Pierre-Augustin, baron de Beaumarchais (1732-99); as well as more popular writers, such as the poet Évariste Désiré de Forges, comte de Parny (1753-1814), the poet and playwright François Andrieux (1759-1833), the poet and political song writer Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780-1857), the playwright and fabulist Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), the novelist and satirist Louis Reybaud (1798-1879), and the radical republican playwright Étienne Vincent Arago (1802-1892). [3] Bastiat also mixed in liberal circles in the late 1840s in which such notable authors as the poet and liberal statesman Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine (1790–1869) and the poet and playwright Victor Hugo (1802-1885) also moved.

Bastiat was also familiar with many English authors (he spoke and read four languages - Italian, Spanish, English, French, and also some Basque) whom he also quoted or borrowed from in his own writings. These English authors included Daniel Dafoe (most notably the novel Robinson Crusoe), the “free-trade rhymer” Ebenezer Elliot (1781-1849) [4] who wrote awful poetry for the Anti-Corn Law League, and two women popularisers of free market ideas who wrote little stories or tales for a popular audience, Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769-1858) [5] and Harriet Martineau (1802-1876). [6]

Finally, we should also note that Bastiat referred to Cervantes' Don Quixote (1615) on at least two occasions and devoted an entire story, "Barataria", (unpublished but written possibly in 1848) based upon a disagreement Don Quixote and Sancho had about how to rule an island. In some ways Bastiat might have thought of himself rather sardonically as the economist equivalent of Don Quixote mounting his free market steed to enter into battle once again to fight for the principles that "when something is scare, its price rises; prices rise when and because things are scarce". With similar success as Quixote had one might add. [7]

Bastiat's use of literature was twofold. He regularly quotes from French and English literature (both "popular" and "elite") in order to illustrate his economic points (which I will describe at greater length below) but he also goes one step further which makes him stand out among economists - he adopts several literary forms in order to write about economics. These forms include dialogues and mini-plays, fables, fake petitions, satirical poems, and even short utopian stories. He even goes so far at one point as to adopt the persona of one his fictional characters, the French everyman Jacques Bonhomme, so he can speak directly to the people of Paris as one of them during the 1848 Revolution.

I think Bastiat's use of literature in these ways make him unique in the history of economic thought. It helped him become one of, perhaps even, the greatest economic journalist and populariser who has ever lived, [8] by providing him with the trappings to make his journalism clever, funny, appealing, and understandable to a non-expert audience, namely by his use of the apt quote, a clever reference to a literary figure, or the amusing pun. It also led him, perhaps unintentionally, to a new "literary" way of doing economics, by not just quoting the work of others but by writing his own poems and plays in which he would couch his economic arguments, and by inventing his own "economic fables" and stories, most notably stories about the French everyman Jacques Bonhomme and Robinson Crusoe.

One of his most significant innovations was to use literature to create an entirely new way of thinking about economics, what we know today as "praxeology" or the science of human action which is central to the Austrian school of economic thought. Bastiat began by taking the characters Robinson Crusoe and Friday ("Vendredi") from Defoe's novel in order to illustrate some of the principles of free trade and protection in several short dialogues in his Economic Sophisms and then later extending this into a much more abstract theory about how individuals make economic decisions in his unfinished treatise Economic Harmonies (1850, 1851). Bastiat thus is the inventor of what one might call "praxeological Crusoe economics" which was later taken up by Austrian economists like Böhm-Bawerk in the 1880s and Murray N. Rothbard in the 1960s and 1970s and incorporated into the theoretical foundations of Austrian economics at a very deep level, as well as Rothbard's theory of property rights and anarcho-capitalism. This achievement thus makes Bastiat an important forebear of the Austrian School of economic thought and modern libertarian political theory.

Journalism and the Beginning of the "Sophisms"↩

Bastiat's arrival in Paris and the Birth of the "Sophisms"

Frédéric Bastiat [9] burst onto the Parisian political economy scene in October 1844 with the publication of his first major article "De l'influence des tarifs français et anglais sur l'avenir des deux peuples" (On the Influence of English and French Tariffs on the Future of the Two People) in the Journal des Économistes. [10] This proved to be a sensation and he was welcomed with open arms by the Parisian political economists [11] as one of their own. It turned out that this essay by an unknown author from the distant province of Les Landes sat in the editor's inbox for some time as it was not deemed worthy of his attention. When he finally got around to reading it the word got around and things changed dramatically for the author. He soon became one their regular and most popular authors. He was invited to visit them in Paris and then England in order to meet Richard Cobden and other leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League. Bastiat's book on Cobden and the League appeared in 1845 which was an attempt to explain to the French people the meaning and significance of the Anti-Corn Law League by means of Bastiat's lengthy introduction and his translation of key speeches and newspaper articles by members of the League. [12]   It was in this very welcoming context that Bastiat began his career as an economic journalist. He was encouraged by the leaders of "la Société d'Économie Politique" (the Political Economy Society) [13] to write a series of articles explicitly called "Economic Sophisms" for the April, July, and October 1845 issues of their Journal des Économistes. [14] These became the first half of a larger collection of 22 pieces which would appear in early 1846 as Economic Sophisms. [15] As articles continued to pour from the pen of Bastiat during 1846 and 1847, most of which were first published in his own free trade journal Le Libre-Échange (founded 29 November 1846 and closed 16 April 1848) [16] and in the Journal des Économistes, he soon amassed enough material to publish a second volume of the Economic Sophisms in January 1848 which consisted of 17 essays. [17] As Bastiat's literary executor, friend, and editor of his complete works Prosper Paillottet noted in a footnote, there was even enough material for a third series compiled from the other short pieces which appeared between 1846 and 1848 in various organs such as Le Libre-Échange, had Bastiat lived long enough to get them ready for publication. [18] With Liberty Fund's edition of volume three of Bastiat's Collected Works (2017) we were able to do what he and Paillottet were not able to do, namely gather in one volume most of Bastiat's other Sophisms. The selection criteria is that they were written in a similar style, namely short, witty, sarcastic, pieces sometimes in dialogue form, and having the intention of debunking widely held but false economic ideas. The "Economic Sophisms. Series III" which we compiled consisted of 24 essays. We also included in the volume the pamphlet Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (What is Seen and What is Not Seen) (July 1850) [19] with its 12 chapters which is also very much in the same style and format as the "Economic Sophisms".

To this collection of the "sophisms" I have added four more "economic sophisms" and five "political sophisms" for a combined total of 87 essays.

Bastiat the Economic Journalist

It should be noted Bastiat has been recognized as an outstanding economic journalist by writers such as Joseph Schumpeter (1954) and Friedrich Hayek (1964), but who in turn dismissed his abilities as an economic theorist. His most damning critic was Schumpeter in his History of Economic Analysis (1954) who mocked his efforts as an economic theorist ("he was no theorist") but grudgingly admits that he "might" go down in history as "the most brilliant economic journalist who ever lived". [20] Hayek's assessment was damning in another way. In his rather "Austro-English" very polite manner he suggested it would be better for the reader not to look too closely into the matter but turn his gaze away. We might still read his journalism but "we might well leave it at that". [21]

I believe both Schumpeter and Hayek are wrong about Bastiat's merits as an economic theorist but that is another matter discussed elsewhere. [22]

To return to Bastiat the economic journalist , it is instructive to examine the variety of formats in which he published his material and the organs in which they were published. He did not stick to any hard or fast approach to his writing. Sometimes he would write just an ephemeral article on a local issue which had no further use or purpose. At other times he would write an article for a small journal or newspaper, and then adapt it for publication as a stand alone pamphlet, or in a more "high brow" journal, or inclusion in a printed collection such as Economic Sophisms I (1846) and Economic Sophisms II (1848). Each article therefore needs to be understood in the light of the original place of publication and the audience for whom it was written. We have indicated wherever possible in a footnote this contextual information in order to help the reader.

A good example of this flexibility is his famous essay on "L'État" (The State) which he originally wrote as a very short article in his street magazine Jacques Bonhomme aimed at ordinary workers and protesters in the streets of Paris in June 1848. He then expanded it for publication in the more intellectual Journal des Débats in September 1848, and then again as a pamphlet in 1849 as part of the election campaign against the socialists. [23]

The following are the different types of articles he wrote and the organs in which they appeared in print:  

1. articles in newspapers and journals aimed at a popular audience, e.g. Le Libre-Échange which was the organ of the French Free Trade Association)
2. articles in highbrow magazines aimed at an educated audience, e.g. the Journal des Débats
3. articles in academic journals aimed at a specialized readership, e.g. the Journal des Économistes published by Guillaumin
4. articles written for revolutionary newspapers to be handed out on the streets of Paris during the Revolution of February and March 1848 and June 1848, e.g. the short lived newspapers La République française and Jacques Bonhomme respectively
5. some very short articles were written expressly to be used as wall posters (affiches) which were stuck up on the streets of Paris during the Revolution. Some of the articles in Jacques Bonhomme fall into this category. [24]
6. many of his longer essays and Sophisms were reprinted as stand alone pamphlets by the Guillaumin publishing firm after they first appeared in the journals and then sold to the public.

Bastiat's First Use of the term "Sophisms"?

The first time an essay was published which was explicitly called a "sophism" was in April 1845 in the Journal des Économistes when Bastiat began the series of essays which would eventually become the first book of Economic Sophisms. [25] But this was not the first time Bastiat had used the term.

As early as November 1830 when he ran for election for the first time [26] he used the term in his election platform to criticise so-called "moderates" who wanted to increase taxes. He thought their call for "moderation" was just part of "cette armée de sophismes" (this army of sophismes) which were being presented to the voters in order to deceive and "blind" (s’aveugler soi-même) them. [27] The latter statement is also interesting as an early example of his very important notion of "the seen and the unseen" and all the other variants of language he used to describe "perceiving" and "deceiving," "seeing" and "not seeing", the "physical eye" and "the mind's eye", etc. [28]

It was not until thirteen years later that he used the term again. In a paper on the wine industry he presented to "La Société d’agriculture, commerce, arts, et sciences du département des Landes" (January 1843) [29] he talks about the credulity of the public in believing "sophisms" about why the industry is suffering. The tax authorities blamed the farmers for planting too many vines (the sophism). Bastiat believes it is because of the deleterious impact of high taxes and market restrictions on wine production (the truth). [30] Then again in May in an article he wrote for a local newspaper La Sentinelle des Pyrénées on how vested interests pay newspapers to defend legislation which benefits them at the expense of others. The newspapers say they are just "earning a living" by doing so. Bastiat believes they are corrupt and their justifications are only "sophisms" which "saute(ent) aux yeux" (leap out before one's eyes). [31]

After Bastiat entered the circle of the Paris-based political economists and began writing regularly for the JDE his use of the term "sophism" was much more frequent and it became a staple of his writing. In the first article he wrote for the JDE, "De l’influence des tarifs français et anglais sur l’avenir des deux peuples" (October 1844) he uses it only once when describing the true nature of the protectionists. He thought it was the task of the economist to expose them by stripping away "des prétextes, des sophismes, des faux exposés" (the excuses, sophisms, and false accounts) which they used to "disguise" their true aims in a way that was "toute franche et toute nue" (completely frank and naked). [32]

Bastiat became angrier and began to use much more "harsh" language about sophisms in his long Introduction to his book on Cobden and the League (July 1845), in which there were six references. [33] In one reference he returns to the idea that the protectionists could draw upon a well established "l’armée de sophismes qui, dans tous les temps et dans tous les pays, ont servi d’étai au monopole" (the army of sophisms which have served as the supporting struts of monopoly at all times and in all countries). Some of his strongest language appears in a passage in which he expresses his admiration for the courage and integrity of the members of the Anti-Corn Law League in opposing what he called "le régime le plus oppressif et le plus fortement organisé, après l’esclavage" (the most oppressive and strongly organised regime since slavery). I quote the full passage to show its power: [34]

C’est certainement un grand et beau spectacle que de voir un petit nombre d’hommes essayant, à force de travaux, de persévérance et d’énergie, de détruire le régime le plus oppressif et le plus fortement organisé, après l’esclavage, qui ait pesé jamais sur un grand peuple et sur l’humanité, et cela sans en appeler à la force brutale, sans même essayer de déchaîner l’animadversion publique, mais en éclairant d’une vive lumière tous les replis de ce système, en réfutant tous les sophismes sur lesquels il s’appuie, en inculquant aux masses les connaissances et les vertus qui seules peuvent les affranchir du joug qui les écrase.

It is certainly a grand and beautiful spectacle to see a small number of men attempting, through their hard work, perservereance, and energy, to destroy the most oppressive and strongly organised regime which, after slavery, has ever weighed down upon a great people and on humanity. And they do thus without calling upon brute force or even in unleashing public anger, but by shining a bright light on all the ins and outs of this system, by refuting all the sophisms on which it is supported, in instilling in the masses the knowledge and the moral virtues which alone can free them from the yoke which crushes them.

On the other hand, his mocking style is also revealed in a critique of a pro-protectionist journal La Presse which he wrote for the JDE in December 1845, "La Ligue anglaise et la Ligue allemande" (The English League and the German League). [35] It is noteworthy for his use of the metaphor of the "tied up hand" which he would use to such good effect in a later sophism "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand). [36] In his critique of La Presse he says: [37]

L’argumentation de la Presse n’est donc qu’un sophisme de confusion. L’Allemagne avait ses deux bras garrottés ; le Zollverein est survenu qui a dégagé le bras droit (commerce intérieur) et gêné un peu plus le bras gauche (commerce extérieur) ; dans ce nouvel état elle a fait quelque progrès. « Voyez, dit la Presse, ce que c’est pourtant que de gêner le bras gauche ! » Et que ne nous montre-t-elle le bras droit ?

The argument used by La Presse is a sophism of confusion. Germany had its two hands tied (garrottés). When the Zollverein arose the right hand (internal trade) was untied while the left hand (foreign trade) was restricted a bit more. In this state of affairs it has made some progress. "Look, says La Presse, this happened in spite of of restricting its left hand!" And what about showing us what the right hand is doing?

With these five early uses of the term "sophism" under his belt Bastiat would go on to write scores of what he called "sophisms", or short essays is which he would mock, denounce, and rebut the common falsehoods and deceptive arguments used by the protectionists and the supporters of government intervention in the economy. What follows is a discussion of the formats he used in writing these essays, a more detailed examination of his aims in writing them, and the historical precedents from which he drew inspiration.

The Format of the Economic Sophisms↩

Introduction

A fuller list of the rhetorical devices used by Bastiat in the collected Sophisms shows the breadth and complexity of what one might call his “rhetoric of liberty” which he formulated to expose the follies of the policies of the ruling elite and their system of “la spoliation légale" (legal plunder), and to undermine their authority and legitimacy with "la piqûre du ridicule" (the sting of ridicule):

1.  a standard prose format which one would normally encounter in a newspaper or magazine
2.  the single authorial voice in the form of a personal conversation with the reader, often using the familiar "tu" form.
3.  a serious constructed dialogue between stock figures who represented different viewpoints, usually a protectionist and a free trader (in this Bastiat was influenced by Jane Marcet and Harriet Martineau; Gustave de Molinari continued Bastiat’s format in some of his writings in the late 1840s and 1850s)
4. satirical "official" letters or petitions to government officials or ministers, and other fabricated documents written by Bastiat (in these Bastiat would usually use a reductio ad absurdum argument to mock his opponents" arguments)
5. the use of Robinson Crusoe stories or "thought experiments" to make serious economic points or arguments in a more easily understandable format
6. "economic tales" modelled on classic French authors such as La Fontaine's fables, and Andrieux's short stories
7. parodies of well-known scenes from French literature, such as Molière's plays in which Bastiat would change the words in order to make contemporary political and economic points
8. quoting scenes of plays were the playwright mocks the pretensions of aspiring bourgeois who want to act like the nobles who disdain commerce (e.g., Molière, Beaumarchais)
9. quoting poems with political content, e.g. Horace's Ode on the transience of tyrants
10. quoting satirical songs about the foolish or criminal behaviour of kings or emperors (such as Napoleon) (Bastiat was familiar with the world of the "goguettiers" (political song writers) and their interesting sociological world of drinking and singing clubs
11. the use of jokes, plays on words, and puns (such as the names gave to characters in his dialogs (Mr. Blockhead), or place names ("Stulta" and "Puera"), and puns on words such as "Highville", and "gaucherie")

We have identified a total of 87 individual sophisms which Bastiat wrote between 1845 and 1850. There were 22 plus an Introduction and Conclusion in ES1 (published in January 1846); 17 in ES2 (published in January 1848); 28 in our edition of ES3 (published in journals like Le Libre-Échange, La République française, Jacques Bonhomme, or unpublished papers found by his literary executors after his death); the 12 chapters of WSWNS plus an Introduction (published in July 1850); and five "political sophisms" written at various times.

In writing these essays Bastiat used a variety of formats which are listed below according to how frequently they occur in the collection. See Appendix 2 for a List of the Sophisms by Format.

1. essays written in informal or more conversational prose (40 essays or 46%) - (IP)
2. essays which were in dialog or constructed conversational form (14 or 16%) - (D)
3. essays written in more formal or academic prose (12 or 14%) - (FP)
4. stand alone economic tales or fables (10 or 11.5%) - (EF)
5. fictional letters or petitions to government officials and other documents (8 or 9.2%) - (P)
6. direct appeals to the workers and citizens of France (4 or 4.6%) - (A)

i. Essays written in Informal or more Conversational Prose (IP)

  These essays are the dominant type in the collection (40) and make up 46% of the total. Not surprisingly they read like they were originally written for popular newspapers and are quite conversational in tone. Bastiat often quotes from the speeches or writings of his protectionist opponents before attempting to refute their arguments. He also often makes conversational asides to his readers (e.g. the exclamation "Que!" (What!) or other comments) which gives the impression that Bastiat is sitting next to the reader in a bar or public debate and having a vigorous conversation. It is quite possible that the style of these essays is a result of a version of them having been given as speeches in public meetings of the French Free Trade Association before being printed in the Association's journal Le Libre-Échange. Some of these essays contain stories about made up characters with snippets of their dialog as Bastiat goes about making his points; others contain brief references to one of Bastiat's favourite characters, Jacque Bonhomme, the French everyman. Because the dialog or conversation is only a small part of the essay they have been included in this category and not the next. [38]

ii. Essays written in Dialog or Constructed Conversational Form (D)

  The second most common format for the Sophisms were the essays written expressly in dialogue or conversational form (14 essays or 16% of the total). Some conversations were introduced with a section of prose before the conversation took center stage; others were entirely devoted to the conversation. Bastiat created stock characters to represent different sides in a debate which unfolded over several pages with the inevitable result that the free market advocate won the contest. Bastiat was quite inventive and often amusing in creating names for his characters, such as a "Mister Blockhead" (who was a Tax Collector), "The Utopian" (who was a Minister in the government who fantasized about introducing a radical free market reform program), and "Mister Prohibitionist" (a defender of protectionist policies) and "The Law Factory" (the Chamber of Deputies). His other characters were often fairly prosaic in their names, such as his favourite "Jacques Bonhomme" (the wiley French everyman), John Bull (the pragmatic British everyman who is used here to advocate postal reform), various "Petitioners" to government officials, "Ironmasters" and "Woodcutters", and the "Economist" and the "Artisan". In some cases the character "Jacques Bonhomme" was described as a "wine producer" which, given the fact that Bastiat was a farmer who came from a wine producing region, strongly suggests that sometimes the free trade arguments he was placing in Jacques mouth got a bit personal. [39]  

The published collections of Economic Sophisms were not the only place where Bastiat used the constructed dialog form. On one occasion he used it in an article he published in his home town newspaper Mémorial bordelais (February 1846) on "Théorie du bénéfice" (The Theory of Profit) where he creates a conversation between the Mayor of Bordeaux and a Lobbyist who wants a new city toll to be imposed on all iron goods coming into the city so that his higher cost foundry will be profitable. [40] On two occasions in June 1848 he wrote short pieces for his street magazine Jacques Bonhomme where the French everyman Jacques Bonhomme has discussions with, first the Minister of Finance in a foreign country by the name of "Lord Budget", and secondly with a profligate spendthrift named Old Man Mathurin. In ES3.26 "Une mystification" (A Hoax) Jacques visits another country and describes a meeting he had with a Minister by the name of "Lord Budget" (in English) who describes how he uses indirect taxation to fool the people by giving back only some of the taxes they pay the state in the form of services and assistance and keeping the rest for himself and his friends - hence "the Hoax". In ES3.28 "Funeste gradation" (A Dreadful Escalation) Jacques tells a story about visiting Old Man Mathurin who told him he had solved his debt problems by borrowing more money to pay off his creditors. Jacques scoffs at him and tells him that the only way to pay off his debts is to spend less and earn more. [41]

A quite innovative dialog form which Bastiat had much to do with inventing was the use of the characters "Robinson Crusoe" and "Friday" to create what might be called "thought experiments" in economic thinking In these special dialogs Bastiat would simplify quite complex economic arguments, cheekily putting interventionist and protectionist arguments into the mouth of the "civilized" European Crusoe and the more liberal free market ideas into the mouth of the "savage" Friday. [42]

iii. Stand alone Economic Tales or Fables (EF)

  Given Bastiat's love of literature and his penchant for the fairy tales and fables of Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95), Charles Perrault (1628-1703), [43] and Jean-Pierre Florian (1755-1794), it is not surprising that he would turn his hand to writing his own "economic tales" or fables (10) which comprise 11.5% of the total. Another model might have been Voltaire's "philosophic tales" such as Candide (1759) [44] although Bastiat does not quote him as he does Fontaine, Perrault, and Florian. These "economic tales" are coherent stories or tales designed to make an important economic point in a light hearted manner. [45] They are self-contained, usually have no introduction by a narrator (such as Bastiat), and are often very funny and poignant. Bastiat wrote eight of them as Sophisms and they are spread out quite evenly over the various collections he had published, suggesting that he regarded them as an essential part of the genre. Some of the more noteworthy tales are the following: ES1.10 "Réciprocité" (Reciprocity) (Oct. 1845) [46] which is a fable in which the councillors of two wittily named towns "Stulta" (a Latin pun which could be translated as "Stupidville") and "Puera" ("Childishtown") try to figure out how best to disrupt trade between themselves, thinking like their national counterparts that trade barriers will increase "national" or in this case "local" production; ES2.07 "Conte chinois" (A Chinese Tale) [47] in which a free trade-minded Emperor of China causes his protectionist-minded Mandarins considerable grief; ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) [48] which is in fact a small, four act play with multiple characters who argue about the pros and cons of protection and free trade; and probably the best known of Bastiat's tales WS.01 "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window) [49] where there is a brief prose introduction before a wonderful story about Jacques Bonhomme's broken window is told, along with its impact on the Glazier and the Shoemaker. These "economic tales" are probably Bastiat's best work in making the study of economics less "dry and dull" (as he lamented) and it is a pity he did not write more of them as he seemed to have quite a talent for it.

iv. Fictional Letters or Petitions to Government Officials and Other Documents (P)

  On a par with his "economic tales", at least in terms of the number written (8 or 9.2% of the total) and their originality and creativity, are the fictional letters or petitions to government officials which Bastiat wrote. In most cases they were quite satirical and very funny. These fake letters and petitions were written to members of the Chamber of Deputies, various Cabinet Ministers, the Council of Ministers, and even to the King, usually with requests for preposterous solutions to their economic problems. Bastiat uses the "reductio ad absurdum" method to argue his point, taking a conventional argument used by protectionists, such as a request to keep cheap foreign imports out of the country because it hurts domestic producers, and pushing it to an absurd extreme, the best example being his ES1.07 "Pétition des fabricants de chandelles, etc." (Petition by the Manufacturers of Candles, etc.) (Oct. 1845) [50] . In this case, a straight-faced group of petitioners who make artificial light (such as candles and lamps) ask the Chamber of Deputies to pass a law forcing all consumers to block out the cheap natural light of the sun during daylight hours in order to boost demand for their products for which of course the producers charge a hefty price. The ridiculousness of their demand and the logical similarity with the demands of the protectionists is the point Bastiat was trying to make in this clever and witty manner.   Another kind of document which Bastiat liked to "invent" was the historical document such as the ES3.20 "Monita secreta" (The Secret Handbook) (Feb. 1848) [51] based upon a seventeenth century forgery of a manual which purported to show how the Jesuits secretly went about recruiting members to their cause and lobbying governments to get the legislation they wanted. Here, Bastiat "discovers" a secret manual or guide book written to assist the protectionists in their political and intellectual struggle against the free traders. By "exposing" this secret and conspiratorial document for the first time to the French public, Bastiat has a field day. [52]

v. Essays written in more Formal or Academic Prose (FP)

  These are longer pieces and are written in a more academic style in which quite sophisticated and complex theoretical and historical ideas are discussed. There were 12 which comprise 14% of the total. There are relatively few in the collections specifically called Economic Sophisms (only four), three of the five political sophisms, and the Introduction to WSWNS. [53] The first two examples are the opening two essays in Economic Sophisms Series II (1848) [54] on ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder) and ES2.02 "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies) and are discussed in more detail in another paper. [55] There is no information on any previous publication of these pieces so it is possible that they were written especially for the second series of Economic Sophisms. Another two essays were written for the more academic and sophisticated Journal des Économistes. ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) appeared in the January 1846 issue [56] and is notable for Bastiat's testy reaction to reviews of Economic Sophisms ( Series I) for being "trop théorique, scientifique, métaphysique" (too theoretical, scientific, and metaphysical), the defence of his strategy for "calling a spade a spade" in his writings (such as describing government taxation and tariffs as a form of "theft"), and for the appearance of one the wittiest pieces he ever wrote, a parody of Molière's parody, where Bastiat writes (in Latin) an "Oath of Office" for aspiring government officials. The second essay ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions)" appeared in the March 1848 issue of the Journal des Économistes [57] and is interesting because it was published at the very beginning of the 1848 Revolution and shows the growing alarm felt by the political economists at the rise of socialist and interventionist ideas among the revolutionaries.

vi. Direct Appeals to the Workers and Citizens of France (A)

  This type of essay is the one most infrequently used by Bastiat (4 or 4.6%). The first occurs in ES1 12 [58] and is a direct appeal to the Workers, perhaps modelled on a real speech Bastiat gave on the hustings as he campaigned for the French Free Trade Association. We do not have any information about its original date or place of publication. The other two occurrences are wall posters which originally appeared in Bastiat's and Molinari's revolutionary paper Jacques Bonhomme in June 1848. They were designed to appeal to the workers and citizens of Paris at the beginning of the 1848 Revolution. The idea was to post them on walls in the streets of Paris so the passers by could read them. [59] In ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy (14 March, 1848) [60] Bastiat likens the state once again to a quack doctor who tries to cure the patient (the taxpayers of France) by giving him a blood transfusion by taking blood out of one arm and pumping it into the other arm (his parody of Molière appeared that same month in the Journal des Économistes). In ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) (12 March 1848) [61] he argues that the state is not like Christ and cannot miraculously turn water into wine, or in this case give out more in subsidies than it takes in in taxes. Both were short, emotional appeals to the Parisian crowd to spurn the seductive socialist policies of the new Provisional Government.

The Purpose of the Economic Sophisms↩

Introduction

I think Bastiat had several purposes in mind in writing the "sophisms". The first purpose was the fairly narrow one of refuting the erroneous theoretical ideas and justifications for government policy put forward by the Protectionists. There is in addition a broader purpose which was to go beyond the ideas and behaviour of just one powerful vested interest group of his day and to address the general problem of the morality and the modus operandi of what he called "la classe spoliatrice" (the plundering class), of which the Protectionists were a key member in his day. To do this, Bastiat had to develop a "theory of plunder" (especially his idea of "la spoliation légale" (legal plunder)), and a special rhetoric to use in exposing and opposing the actions of this class.

The rhetorical strategy he developed was to mock and ridicule the arguments the plundering class used to justify its activity; to use "harsh language" ("calling a spade a spade" ) in order to bring to people's attention the fact that they were being deceived and were the victims of force and fraud, and to shame the plundering class with moral arguments drawn from religion, philosophy, and economics. His harshest language can be found in the introduction to his early piece on Cobden et la Ligue (Cobden and the (Anti-Corn Law) League) (written in mid-1845), [62] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) (Jan. 1846), [63] the conclusion to ES1 (probably written in late 1845), [64] and the first two chapters of ES2 (probably written in late 1847). [65] I will provide here an example of this harsh rhetoric from his Introduction to Cobden and the League. The other pieces will be discussed below.

The anger Bastiat obviously felt at the actions of "l'oligarchie britannique" (the British oligarchy) which controlled British politics and economic policy is palpable, as these passages clearly show. It would not be long before Bastiat was using similar sharp language, such was "ravir" ("ravish", abduct, even rape), "spoliation" (plunder), deceptive euphemistic language ("protection"), "la plaie" (the plague), "la spoliation légalement exercée" (legal plunder), "une oligarchie puissante et impitoyable" (a powerful and pitiless oligarchie), against the largest landowners and industrialists of his own country:

La possession du sol met aux mains de l'oligarchie anglaise la puissance législative; par la législation, elle ravit systématiquement la richesse à l'industrie." p. xiv Online	Possession of the soil puts into the hands of the English oligarchy the Legislative power; by means of legislation it systematically seizes wealth from industry.
Il faut rendre justice à l'oligarchie anglaise. Elle a déployé, dans sa double politique de spoliation intérieure et extérieure, une habileté merveilleuse. Deux mots, qui impliquent deux préjugés, lui ont suffi pour y associer les classes mêmes qui en supportent tout le [xv] fardeau : elle a donné au monopole le nom de Protection, et aux colonies celui de Débouchés. pp. xiv-xv Online	One has to give due recognition to the English oligarchy. It has demostrated marvellous skill in its twin policy of interior and exterior plunder. The use of two words, and the prejudices they imply, were enough to win over the support of the very classes which carry the entire burden: it gave monopoly the name "Protection", and colonies the name "Marketes".
Ainsi l'existence de l'oligarchie britannique, ou du moins sa prépondérance législative, n'est pas seulement une plaie pour l'Angleterre, c'est encore un danger permanent pour l'Europe. p. xv Online	Thus the existence of the British oligarchy, or at least its legislative supremacy, is not only a plague for England, it is also a permanent danger for Europe.
C'est une pure question de liberté commerciale, dit-on; et ne voit-on pas que la liberté du commerce doit ravir à l'oligarchie et les ressources de la spoliation intérieure, les monopoles, et les ressources de la spoliation extérieure, les colonies, puisque monopoles et colonies sont tellement incompatibles avec la liberté des échanges, qu'ils ne sont autre chose que la limite arbitraire de cette liberté! p. xv Online	It is a pure question of commercial liberty, they say! But they don't see that (true) commercial liberty has to seize/take away from the Oligarchy the resources (it gets) from internal plunder and monopolies, and the resources (it gets) from external plunder and colonies, since monopolies and colonies are so incompatible with free trade that they are on the other side of the boundary line which defines what this liberty is!
Pour le savoir, il suffit de comparer le prix du blé étranger, à l'entrepôt, avec le prix du blé indigène. La différence multipliée par le nombre de quarters consommés annuellement en Angleterre donnera la mesure exacte de la spoliation légalement exercée, sous cette forme, par l'oligarchie britannique. p. xx Online	In order to undertsand this it is sufficient to compare the price of foreign wheat in the warehouses with the price of domestic wheat. The difference between them, multipied by the number of tons annually consumed in England will provide the exact amount of the plunder which is legally carried out, in this particular case, by the British oligarchy.
Les dynasties et les empires dépendaient de ces luttes. Mais les triomphes de la force peuvent être éphémères ; il n'en n'est pas de même de ceux de l'opinion ; et quand nous voyons tout un grand peuple dont l'action sur le monde n'est pas contestée, s'impreigner des doctrines de la justice [lxviii] et de la vérité, quand nous le voyons renier les fausses idées de suprématie qui l'ont si longtemps rendu dangereux aux nations, quand nous le voyons prêt à arracher l'ascendant politique à une oligarchie cupide et turbulente , gardons-nous de le croire, alors même que l'effort des premiers combats se porterait sur des questions économiques, que de plus grands et de plus nobles intérêts ne sont pas engagés dans la lutte. Car, si à travers bien des leçons d'iniquité, bien des exemples de perversité internationale, l'Angleterre, ce point imperceptible du globe, a vu germer sur son sol tant d'idées grandes et utiles; si elle fut le berceau de la presse, du jury, du système représentatif, de l'abolition de l'esclavage, malgré les résistances d’une oligarchie puissante et impitoyable, que ne doit pas attendre l'univers de cette même Angleterre, alors que toute sa puissance morale, sociale et politique aura passé aux mains de la démocratie, par une révolution lente et paisible, péniblement accomplie dans les esprits, sous la conduite d'une association qui renferme dans son sein tant d'hommes dont l'intelligence supérieure et la moralité éprouvées jettent un si grand éclat sur leur pays et sur leur siècle ? Une telle révolution n'est pas un évènement, un accident, une catastrophe due à un enthousiasme irrésistible, mais éphémère. C'est, si je puis le dire, un lent cataclysme social qui change toutes les conditions d'existence de la société, le milieu où elle vit et respire. C'est la justice s'emparant de la puissance et le bon sens entrant [lxix] en possession de l'autorité. C'est le bien général, le bien du peuple, des masses, des petits et des grands, des forts et des faibles devenant la règle de la politique; c'est le privilège, l'abus, la caste disparaissant de dessus la scène, non par une révolution de palais ou une émeute de la rue, mais par la progressive et générale appréciation des droits et des devoirs de l'homme. En un un mot, c'est le triomphe de la liberté humaine, c'est la mort du monopole, ce Protée aux mille formes tour à tour conquérant, possesseur d'esclaves, théocrate, féodal, industriel, commercial, financier et même philanthrope. Quelque déguisement qu'il emprunte, il ne saurait plus soutenir le regard de l'opinion publique, car elle a appris à le reconnaitre sous l'uniforme rouge, comme sous la robe noire, sous la veste du planteur, comme sous l'habit brodé du noble pair. Liberté à tous! à chacun juste et naturelle rémunération de ses œuvres ! à chacun juste et naturelle accession à l'égalité en proportion de ses efforts, de son intelligence, de sa prévoyance et de sa moralité. Libre échange avec l'univers ! Paix avec l'univers ! Plus d'asservissement colonial, plus d'armée, plus de marine que ce qui est nécessaire pour le maintient de l'indépendance nationale! Distinction radicale de ce qui est et de ce qui n'est pas la mission du gouvernement et de la loi ! L'association politique réduite à garantir à chacun sa liberté et sa sûreté contre toute aggression inique, soit du dehors, soit au dedans; impôt équitable pour défrayer convenablement les hommes chargés de cette mission, et non pour [lxx] servir de masque, sous le nom de débouchés à l'usurpation extérieure, et sous le nom de protection à la spoliation des citoyens les uns par les autres. Voilà ce qui s'agite en Angleterre, sur le champ de bataille, en apparence si restreint, d'une question douanière; mais cette question implique l'esclavage dans sa forme moderne, car, comme le disait au Parlement un membre de la Ligue, M. Gibson : « S'emparer des hommes pour les faire travailler à son profit, ou s'emparer des fruits de leur travail, c'est toujours de l'esclavage, il n'y a de différence que dans le degré. »p. lxviii-lxx. Online	Political dynasties and empires depend upon these battles (in war). But triumphs by means of force can be ephemeral. It is not the same with those (triumphs) by means of public opinion, and when we see all the members of a great people whose influence on the entire world is not contested, imbued with ideas about justice and truth, when we see them denying false ideas about (national) supremacy which for such a long time has made them a danger to other nations, when we see them ready to tear away the political supremacy of a greedy and unruly oligarchy, let us not think that, even though the focus of the first fight was on economic matters, the most powerful and most noble interests were engaged in the battle. Because, if England, in spite of its displays of iniquity, in spite of its acts of international perversity, has seen so many great and useful ideas take root in its soil - something which has been imperceptiabel to the rest of the globe; if it has been the cradle of a free press, trial by jury, the system of representative government, the abolition of slavery, in spite of the opposition of a powerful and ruthless oligarchy, one should not expect the world of this very same England, until all its moral, social, and political power has passed into the hands of democracy, by means of a slow and peaceful revolution, achieved with difficulty in the minds of the people, under the leadership of an Association (the Anti-Corn Law League) which embodies so many men who have demonstrated their superior minds and morality, have thrown down such a challenge for their country and their century? Such a revolution is not a mere event, an accident, a catastrophe brought about by enthusiasm which is irrestable but ephemeral. It is, if I may so so, a slow social cataclysm which will change all aspects of life in society, the milieu in which we live and breathe. It is justice seizing power and common sense taking possession of (public) authority. It is the general good, the good of the people, the masses, the great and the small, the weak and the strong, becoming the law of (public) policy. It is privlege, (legal) abuse, and caste disappearing from the scene, not by means of a palace coup or a street riot, but by the growing and widespread understanding of the rights and duties of mankind. In a word, it is the triumph of human liberty, it is the death of monopoly, this protean force with its thousands of different shapes which one day is a conquerer, the next day an owner of slaves, a theocrat, a feudal lord, an industrialist, a merchant, a financier, and even a philanthropist. Whatever disguise it assumes, it no longer has the support of public opinion because it has learned to recognise it when it wears a red uniform, a black robe, the planter's vest, the embroided coat of a noble lord. Liberty for everyone! To everone the just and natural reward for their labour! To everyone the just and natural attainment of equality in proportion to their effort, intelligence, foresight and moral behaviour! Free trade with the entire universe! Peace with the entire universe! No more colonial enslavement, no more army, no more navy beyond what is necessary to maintain our national independence! A radical distinction between what is and what is not the (proper) purpose of government and the law! Political association reduced to (the function) of protecting each person's liberty and safety against all unjust aggression, whether from abroad or within (the nation)! Just taxation in order to pay appropriately those who are charged with (carrying out) this mission, and not to serve as a mask to disguise foreign usurpation under the name of "markets", and the plunder of some citizens by other citizens under the name of "protection." This is what is shaking up England on the battlefield over the question of tariffs, which on the surfacce seems so restrained. But this question implies slavery in its modern form because, as a member of the League, Mr. Gibson, said in Parliament, "To seize men in order to make them work for (someone's) profit, or to seize the fruits of their labiour, is always slavery. It is only a difference of degree."

On being a "good economist": Refuting the Erroneous Beliefs and Arguments of the Protectionists

Some definitions are in order so we can better understand Bastiat's sometimes confusing use of the terms "sophism" and "fallacy". In particular, confusion can arise because the word "sophism" was used to describe both a kind of argument or set of ideas, as well as the essay in which those arguments were rebutted.

It is also important to understand what Bastiat meant by a "good economist" and a "bad economist" and what he thought the duties of the "good economist" were, namely to show people what the often "unseen" consequences of economic policy were. [66] He made this distinction quite clear in the Introduction his essay WSWNS: [67]

Dans la sphère économique, un acte, une habitude, une institution, une loi, n'engendrent pas seulement un effet, mais une série d'effets. De ces effets, le premier seul est immédiat; il se manifeste simultanément avec sa cause, on le voit. Les autres ne se déroulent que successivement, on ne les voit pas, heureux si on les prévoit!	In the sphere of economics an action, a habit, an institution, or a law engenders not just one effect but a series of effects. Of these effects only the first is immediate; it is revealed simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The others merely occur successively; they are not seen; we are lucky if we foresee them.
Entre un mauvais et un bon Économiste, voici toute la différence: l'un s'en lient à l'effet visible; l'autre tient compte et de l'effet qu'on voit et de ceux qu'il faut prévoir.	The entire difference between a bad and a good Economist is apparent here. A bad one relies on the visible effect, while the good one takes account both of the effect one can see and of those one must foresee.
Mais cette différence est énorme, car il arrive presque toujours que, lorsque la conséquence immédiate est favorable, les conséquences ultérieures sont funestes, et vice versâ. — D'où il suit que le mauvais Économiste poursuit un petit bien actuel qui sera suivi d'un grand mal à venir, tandis que le [4] vrai Économiste poursuit un grand bien à venir, au risque d'un petit mal actuel.	However, the difference between these is huge, for it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the later consequences are disastrous and vice versa. From which it follows that a bad Economist will pursue a small current benefit that is followed by a large disadvantage in the future, while a true Economist will pursue a large benefit in the future at the risk of suffering a small disadvantage immediately.

Thus for Bastiat, a "good economist" had to expose and correct things like erroneous thinking, false arguments, half truths, outright lies and deception put forward by vested interests, and the public's naïveté about the motives of those who wielded political power. Writing his scores of "sophisms" was the means Bastiat chose to achieve these ends in a provocative and often amusing way.

Beliefs and Arguments: a "Fallacy" vs. a "Sophism"

A Fallacy is a belief or argument which is not true under any circumstances because it is based on unsound premisses, faulty reasoning, or false or partial data. It can be refuted by better data and the application of sound economic theory. This is the task of a "good"" economist and the well informed economic journalist.

A typical fallacy (Fallacy No. 2) [68] is the argument that since labour is used to produce wealth then a nation’s wealth can be increased by increasing the amount of labour it takes to produce things. Bastiat’s typical response is to argue that real increases in wealth are the result of greater output which comes from the greater productivity created by human invention, machinery, or better organization. Thus more can be produced with less effort or labour, which are then freed up for other productive purposes. See a classic example of Bastiat's method of argument in the clever and very witty “Un chemin de fer négatif” (A Negative Railway) (c. 1845). [69]

A Sophism is a belief or argument which is partly true and which is used as a specious argument designed to mislead the pubic in order to benefit some vested interest. The task of the "good economist" is to show its partially true nature by pointing out the part or parts which are missing from the analysis (often what Bastiat called "the unseen"), as well as to identify the interest group which is benefitting from the government measure. A related task is to show how the ordinary taxpayer or consumer (whom Bastiat called "les dupes" (the dupes, i.e. those who are duped or deceived by the sophism)) foots the bill.

A typical sophism (Sophism No. 1: “The Seen and the Unseen”) is the idea that the destruction of property leads to greater sales and production which increases a nation's wealth. The counterargument is that individual producers in a given industry may benefit from selling replacements for destroyed property ("the seen") but the overall economy loses on net balance because overall wealth is destroyed or redistributed ("the unseen"). Bastiat's classic statement of this is in the famous story of “La vitre cassée” (The Broken Window) in his collection WSWNS (July 1850). [70]

When Bastiat began writing in 1844-45 there was a set of such beliefs and arguments commonly used by the protectionists of his day to justify the imposition of tariffs on imported foreign goods, the outright banning of some imports, and the granting of taxpayer funded subsidies to domestic producers, which together were called "Sophisms". Since Bastiat had begun his career attacking the "Sophisms" of the protectionists these were called "Economic Sophisms".

In the Appendix below we have identified three main kinds of "Sophism" and four main kinds of "Fallacy" Bastiat discusses in his writing. These are:

Sophisms

1. Sophism No. 1: “The Seen and the Unseen”
2. Sophism No. 2: “Positive and Negative Ricochet Effects”
3. Sophism No. 3: “The Use of Euphemisms and Frightening Language to Make One’s Arguments”

Fallacies:

1. Fallacy No. 1: “The Interests of the Producers are the Real Interest of the Nation” (not the Interests of the Consumers”
2. Fallacy No. 2: “Real Wealth is measured by the Amount of Labor/Effort expended to Create Goods and Services, not the Total Amount of Goods and Services made available to Consumers”
3. Fallacy No. 3: “Free Trade harms the Interests of the Nation”
4. Fallacy No. 4: “The State can and should provide for the Needs of the People”
5. Fallacy No. 5: Other General Economic Fallacies

These general categories are distinguished from each other by a common set of arguments or subject matter. Each one of these general categories includes a larger number of specific examples which Bastiat dealt with in his writings. It should be noted that the categories of "Sophisms" are more general, and the category of "Fallacies" are more specific. See the Appendix below for details.

In the nineteenth century translators of Bastiat’s Economic Sophisms used the word “Fallacies” which is somewhat misleading as there is a difference between the two, as noted above. [71] A Sophism is something which is partly true and which is used as a specious argument designed to mislead the pubic in order to benefit some vested political or economic interest. A Fallacy is a clearly mistaken belief based upon faulty reasoning or incorrect assumptions. Bastiat himself sometimes goes from one to the other in his writings but I believe he does in the end have a clear distinction in mind between intellectual error (“the fallacy”) and the rhetorical purposes to which partial truth and partial error can be used in arguments over government policies (“the sophism”). In the discussion which follows we try to maintain this distinction where possible, although it must be acknowledged that sometimes “fallacies” can be used in sophistical ways, and some “sophisms” are borderline fallacies if they are repeated often enough.

"Sophisms": the Essays and the Books

For Bastiat and his readers, a “sophism” could also refer to the essay in which the "sophism" (i.e. the erroneous or only partly true belief or argument) was rebutted or corrected. And thus, the collection of such essays were known as "the sophisms" or "his sophisms". By our reckoning Bastiat wrote a total of 87 "sophisms" or essays of this kind.

Typically, a "sophism" was a short essay written for a general audience which attempted to debunk a commonly held misperception or misunderstanding of an economic point of view. The essay would be written in a less formal, familiar style, often in the form of a dialog between two individuals who held opposing views. Or, it would be a satirical “petition” to the government or king requesting some obviously absurd law to “protect” their industry from competition.

Finally, another usage of the term "Sophism" was in the titles of the books in which his "sophisms" (i.e. the essays themselves) were published, most notably the Economic Sophisms. There were two in his lifetime: Sophismes Économiques (Economic Sophisms) (1846) and Sophismes Économiques. Séries II (Economic Sophisms. Series Two) (1848) - and a third with longer essays in the same style which did not have have "Sophisms" in the title but which was referred to in the text, namely Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas, ou l'Économie politique en une leçon (What is Seen and What is Not Seen, or Political Economy in One Lesson) (1850).

Political and other kinds of Sophisms

Since Bastiat is a “political economist” it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between his purely “economic” writings and his purely “political” writings. Although he called his two collections of essays “Economic Sophisms” (Series I in 1846 and Series II in 1848) they enter the realm of politics on many occasions. He began writing his “economic sophisms” in 1845 and 1846 in order to debunk the common arguments used to defend the policy of protectionism, but Bastiat also wrote might be called “political sophisms”, essays in which he debunked erroneous arguments and beliefs of a more political nature, especially concerning the proper role of the State, the highly restricted French voting system prior to the February Revolution of 1848, and the way in which powerful vested interest groups controlled the legislature in order to introduce laws to benefit themselves. The two are closely related in that the protectionists were only able to get special privileges because they controlled the Chamber of Deputies and the various Councils which advised the government on economic policy. Bastiat wrote five such "political sophisms" (i.e. essays) which are listed in in the Appendix. One of these he explicitly called a “sophism” (“Electoral Sophisms”), and his famous essay on “The State” is quite similar in style and purpose to the other sophisms in that it is an attempt to debunk the fallacy (or what Bastiat calls “the great fiction”) that everybody can live off the largess of the welfare State at the expense of everybody else. See below for a discussion of his "political sophisms".

Bastiat also believed that one should refute the "sophisms" (i.e. false or faulty beliefs and arguments) used in other areas such as the following: "Sophisme théocratique, Sophisme politique, Sophisme financier" (theocratic sophism, political sophism, financial sophism). [72] But apart from the handful of "political sophisms" he wrote, he did not have time to address all of these other kinds of sophisms.

One kind of sophism Bastiat was especially keen to write on in more detail and which he had begun thinking about in 1847 was “the sophism of the ricochet effect”. He mentions this in passing on several occasions and regrets not having developed it more completely. See the discussion below for details.

"Le sophisme souche" (the root of all sophisms)

In a very short and unfinished note from 1847, ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss) (c.1847), Bastiat states that he thinks the root of all misunderstandings about the nature of free market economics, and thus all the forms of "sophisms", is the notion that "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (a profit of one person is a loss for another). It comes from an essay written by Montaigne and was quoted several times by Bastiat in his writings. See the discussion below for more details about this important sophism.

Laughing at and Ridiculing "la class spoliatrice" (the exploiting class)

The kinds of arguments and the rhetorical devices used in the Sophisms were made by Bastiat for a very specific purpose, namely to undermine the claims of the small group of people who exercised this power that, 1) the exercise of this power was legitimate, and 2) that they were exercising this power for the good of "the people" or for the improvement of "national industry", when in fact it was being exercised for their own personal or class benefit. He was quite explicit about what his strategy had been on the eve of the February Revolution of 1848 when everything changed with the coming of democracy and the increased power of socialist groups in the Chamber.

Before proceeding any further, a couple of points need to be made. The first is that Bastiat had a clear theory of class and class exploitation which was the basis of his critique of the French state and its economic policies. I have dealt with this topic at some length elsewhere, [73] but it can be summarized as follows:

1. Bastiat defined "la spoliation" (plunder) as the taking of another person’s property without their consent by force or fraud. Those who lived by plunder constituted “les spoliateurs” (the plunderers) or “la classe spoliatrice” (the plundering class). Those whose property was taken constituted “les spoliés” (the plundered) or “les classes spoliées” (the plundered classes).
2. over time plunder became "organised" by the state into what he calls "la spoliation légale" (legal plunder) or plunder which was done with the sanction or under the protection of the law
3. before the expansion of the franchise in February 1848 and the rise of modern mass political groups or parties, plunder was "partial" as it done by and for the benefit of a small group of people (such as slave owners, large landowners, industrialists, the church, the military, the aristocracy). With the establishment of democracy and party politics he thought plunder had been "universalized" whereby many groups jostled for control of the state and thus the flow of "plunder" and privilege that came with this

Bastiat provided a chapter length discussion of his theory of plunder in the first chapter of SE2 which was probably written in late 1847 as the book appeared in print in January 1848. It was a called "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder) [74] . He would continue to write additional articles on plunder throughout the remainder of his life, culminating in his lengthy treatment of it in one of the last things he wrote La Loi (The Law) in July 1850. [75]

The second point which needs to be made here is that the first three books Bastiat published, Cobden et la Ligue (Cobden and the League) (July 1845), Sophismes Économiques (Jan. 1846), and Sophismes Économiques, Séries II. (Jan. 1848), were written before the expansion of the franchise in February 1848 and so were directed against the "partial plunder" of the small pre-revolution ruling class (what, in the case of Britain, Bastiat in Cobden and the League called "l'oligarchie anglaise" (the English oligarchy)). [76] Things would change after February 1848 when the partial plunder of the old ruling elite was forced to compete against the new would-be "universal plunderers" of the expanded electorate. His strategy, arguments, and rhetoric would have to change to suit these new circumstances. For the last couple of years of his life Bastiat was not able to settle on the best course to take and he often went back in forth between addressing the elite and the "people", and using the "dry and dull" language of economics and his humorous satire and "la piqûre du ridicule" (the sting of ridicule). [77]

So, to return to Bastiat's stated strategy as he articulated in March 1848 he said: [78]

Il m’est quelquefois arrivé de combattre le Privilége par la plaisanterie. C’était, ce me semble, bien excusable. Quand quelques-uns veulent vivre aux dépens de tous, il est bien permis d’infliger la piqûre du ridicule au petit nombre qui exploite et à la masse exploitée.

I have sometimes fought against Privilege by joking about it. I think this was quite understandable. When a few people want to live at the expense of everybody else, it is totally permissible to inflict the sting of ridicule on the small number who exploit and the mass of people who are exploited.

Aujourd’hui, je me trouve en face d’une autre illusion. Il ne s’agit plus de priviléges particuliers, il s’agit de transformer le privilége en droit commun. La nation tout entière a conçu l’idée étrange qu’elle pouvait accroître indéfiniment la substance de sa vie, en la livrant à l’État sous forme d’impôts, afin que l’État la lui rende en partie sous forme de travail, de profits et de salaires. On demande que l’État assure le bien-être à tous les citoyens ; et une longue et triste procession, où tous les ordres de travailleurs sont représentés, depuis le roi des banquiers jusqu’à l’humble blanchisseuse, défile devant le grand organisateur pour solliciter une assistance pécuniaire.

Now, I am faced with another illusion. It is no longer a question of the privileges of particular indivdiuals, but of transforming privilege into a right common to all. The entire nation has conceived the odd idea that it could increase indefinitely the things necessary for life by handing them over to the State in the form of taxes in order for the State to give back (to the nation) a portion of it in the form of work, profit, and wages. We ask the state to ensure the well-being of every citizen; and a long and sorry procession, in which every sector of the workforce is represented, from the king of the bankers to the humblest laundress, parades before the "great organizer" in order to ask for financial assistance.

We can hear echoes here of his new definition of "the State" which he would provide in his famous essay on L'État (The State) (June and September 1848). This essay went through three extensive revisions and expansions between its first appearance as a very short article of about 400 words in a street magazine, Jacques Bonhomme, in June 1848 shortly before the June Days uprising, [79] a second enlarged version of 2,000 words published in the up-market and prestigious Journal des débats in September 1848, [80] and its final version as a long essay of 3,900 words in a pamphlet published sometime in April 1849 during the campaigns for the elections for the new National Assembly which were held on 13-14 May. [81] In all three versions he draws up a list of the things the voters are demanding the state should do and this list varied only slightly from version to version. In its final form his definition was that:

L’ÉTAT, c’est la grande fiction à travers laquelle TOUT LE MONDE s’efforce de vivre aux dépens de TOUT LE MONDE.

The state is the great fiction by which everyone endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else.

In his mind the shift from elite exploitation, which had dominated his writing up to February 1848, to popular, democratic exploitation would also require a corresponding shift in rhetorical strategy in his writings. For example, it would probably be less useful for spreading free market ideas to a mass audience of democratic voters by publishing amusing rewrites of passages from a Molière play with which they would probably not be familiar, whereas quoting the fables of La Fontaine or the drinking songs of Béranger might still be very appealing to ordinary people.. Perhaps as well, satire and humour would be less effective in the post-February 1848 era than pointing out the waste and ineffectiveness of the policies of the new welfare state. This was a problem he grappled with without reaching a firm conclusion in the last couple of years of his life.

Shaming the Exploiting Class for their Immoral Actions

In addition to delegitimizing the elites who benefited from their exercise of political power by means of satire and humour, Bastiat also wished to expose the immorality of what they did on religious and philosophical grounds as well as economic grounds. According to the former their actions violated the property rights and the right to liberty of ordinary taxpayers and consumers. According to the latter the results of intervention and privilege were higher costs, distortions to the structure of production and consumption, and other numerous inefficiencies and impediments to economic growth and prosperity. He laid out this aim very clearly in the second chapter of Economic Harmonies Series II "Deux Morales" (Two Moral Philosophies). [82] In this chapter Bastiat reflects on what he is trying to achieve in writing the Economic Sophisms and how he can best achieve this aim. He calls the system of legal plunder which he wants to eliminate, "l'acte malfaisant" (harmful action), and sums up the two pronged task he thinks is necessary to achieve this in the following way: [83]

Il y a doue deux chances pour que l'acte malfaisant soit supprimé : l’abstention volontaire de l’être actif, et la résistance de l’acte passif. De là deux morales qui, bien loin de se contrarier, concourent : la morale religieuse ou philosophique et la morale que je me permettrai d’appeler économique.

There are therefore two opportunities for a harmful action to be eliminated: the voluntary abstention of the active being (those doing the plundering) and the resistance of the passive being (those being plundered).

  The first of the two moralities, "la morale religieuse" (religious morality), has a role to play in the former, i.e. to persuade those carrying out the plundering to see the immorality of what they are doing and to cease doing it. However, Bastiat is extremely sceptical that this has ever worked in history, pointing out that no ruling class has ever voluntarily given up their privileges because of any moral qualms they might have had about them. [84] Instead, he thinks it should be the task of political economy, or "la morale économique" (economic morality), to assist those being plundered to resist their oppressors "actively". In another passage he states: [85]  

Elle lui montre les effets des actions humaines, et par cette simple exposition, elle le stimule à réagir contre celles qui le blessent, à honorer celles qui lui sont utiles. Elle s’éfforce de répandre assez de bon sens, de lumière et de juste défiance dans la masse opprimée pour ren dre de plus en plus l’oppression difficile et dangereuse. …

It (political economy) shows them the effects of human actions and, by this simple demonstration, stimulates them to react against the actions that hurt them and honor those that are useful to them. It endeavors to disseminate enough good sense, enlightenment and justified mistrust in the oppressed masses to make oppression increasingly difficult and dangerous…

La somme des maux l’emporte toujours, et nécessairement, sur celle des biens, parce que le fait même d’opprimer entraîne une déperdition de forces, crée des dangers, provoque des représailles, exige de coûteuses précautions. La simple exposition de ces effets ne se borne donc pas à provoquer la réaction des opprimés , elle met du côté de la justice tous ceux dont le cœur n’est pas perverti, et trouble la sécurité des oppresseurs eux-mêmes.

The sum of evil always outweighs the good, and this has to be so, since the very fact of oppression leads to a depletion of force, creates dangers, triggers retaliation and requires costly precautions. A simple revelation of these effects is thus not limited to triggering a reaction in those oppressed, it rallies to the flag of justice all those whose hearts have not been corrupted and undermines the security of the oppressors themselves.

There was room in Bastiat's mind for strategic cooperation between the "two moralities" which could be more effective if it were organized into an ideological "pincer movement" in the war against immorality and legal plunder: [86]  

Que les deux morales, au lieu de s’entre-décrier, travaillent donc de concert, attaquant le vice par les deux pôles. Pendant que les Economistes font leur œuvre, dessillent les Orgons, déracinent les préjugés, excitent de justes et nécessaires défiances, étudient et exposent la vraie nature des choses et des actions, que le moraliste religieux accomplisse de son côté ses travaux plus attrayants mais plus difficiles. Qu’il attaque l’iniquité corps à corps; qu’il la poursuive dans les fibres les plus déliées du cœur; qu’il peigne les charmes delà bienfaisance, de l’abnégation , du dévouement ; qu’il ouvre la source des vertus là où nous ne pouvons que tarir la source des vices, c’est sa tâche, [38] elle est noble et belle.

Let these two moralities, therefore, work hand in hand instead of mutually decrying one another, and attack vice in a pincer movement. While economists are doing their job, opening the eyes of the Orgons, uprooting preconceived ideas, stimulating just and essential mistrust and studying and exposing the true nature of things and actions, let religious moralists for their part carry out their more attractive but difficult work. Let them engage iniquity in hand-to-hand combat. Let them pursue it right into the deepest fibers of the heart. Let them paint the charms of benevolent action, abnegation and self-sacrifice. Let them open the source of virtues where we can only turn off the source of vice: that is their task, and one that is noble and fine.

Bastiat's particular political goals in organizing a French free trade movement, engaging in popular economic journalism, and standing for election can be summarized as follows: to expose the bad effects of government intervention in the economy; to uproot preconceived and incorrect economic ideas; to arouse a sense of injustice at the immoral actions of the government and its favoured elites; to create justified mistrust perhaps even outrage among those oppressed by the beneficiaries of government privilege; and to open the eyes and stiffen the resistance of "the dupes" who had been mislead and harmed by government policies. The problem he faced was to discover the best way to achieve this for a popular audience which was gullible about the government's professed motives in regulating the economy and who were largely ignorant of economic theory.   A major problem Bastiat is acutely aware of is that political economy had a justified reputation for being "dry and dull" and it was this reputation that Bastiat wanted to overcome with the style he adopted in the Sophisms. As he noted in "The Two Morale Philosophies": [87]

Mais il est aisé de comprendre que cette morale, plutôt virtuelle qu’explicite, qui n’est après tout qu’une démonstration scientifique ; qui perdrait même de son efficacité, si elle changeait de caractère ; qui ne s’adresse pas au cœur, mais à l’intelligence ; qui ne cherche pas à persuader, mais à convaincre ; qui ne donne pas des conseils, mais des preuves ; dont la mission n’est pas de toucher mais d’éclairer, et qui n’obtient sur le vice d’autre victoire que de le priver d'aliments; il est aisé de comprendre, dis-je, que cette morale ait été accusée de sécheresse et de prosaïsme.

But it is easy to understant that this moral philosophy, which is more implied than explicit; which afterall is only a scientifc proof; which would lose its effectiveness if it charged its nature; which does not speak to the heart but to the mind; which does not seek to persuade but to convince; which does not give concil but provides proofs; whose mission is not to touch the emotions but to enlighten the mind; whose only victory over vice is to deprive it of sustenance; I say again that it is easy to understand why this moral philsophy has been accused of being dry and dull.

Le reproche est vrai sans être juste.

The criticism is true without being just.

The issue was how to be appealing to popular readers whom he believed had become "the dupes" of those benefitting from the system of legal plunder. The means Bastiat adopted to achieve his political goals was to write in a style which ordinary people would find appealing, amusing, and convincing and an analysis of the devices he used in composing his Sophisms reveals the great efforts Bastiat took in trying to do this.

Conclusion

In this paper I will discuss the set of rhetorical devices developed by Bastiat in the numerous short essays in which humor and satire played an important part, which were used along with a deeper set of moral arguments about the injustice of exploitation and coercion. I will discuss the variety of formats he devised for the "sophisms", the intellectual origins of these short and pithy attacks on "fallacies" and "sophisms", his use of literature and popular songs to help make his points, and his "invented stories" or economic fables" which make up so much of the charms of these pieces.

With the rise of democracy and socialism during the Second Republic I believe Bastiat was obliged to change his method of arguing in his intellectual and political campaign to oppose government intervention in the economy and rule by "la classe spoliatrice" (the plundering class). He continued to write short humorous pieces but as the Second Republic evolved his longer speeches in the Chamber of Deputies, his journal articles and anti-socialist pamphlets, and then his treatise on economics, took up more and more of his time. In these works, satire and the "sting of ridicule" would play a less important role, although his "economic stories" would feature prominently in his treatise Harmonies économiques.

In other papers I discuss the role that economic stories play in Bastiat's efforts to refute economic sophisms and promote his own theory of the free market. [88] To summarize this, Bastiat increasingly uses the figure of the French everyman "Jacques Bonhomme", even appearing to assume the identity of Jacques during the most violent period of the 1848 Revolution; in his treatise the Economic Harmonies (part 1 in 1850; part 2 in 1851) he uses 55 stories to make his points, including six stories about Robinson Crusoe and Friday (and "Jonathan" in the United States); and three important utopian and dystopian stories, such as a possible free market utopia in ES2 11 “L'utopiste" (The Utopian) (January 1847), [89] the near avoidance of a dystopian interventionist state in ES3.25 "Barataria" (c. 1848) involving the interventionist Don Quixote and the free market supporter Sancho; [90] and a bleak vision of interventionism run wild in Paris in ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) (pre-1848). [91]

In what follows I want to focus on the format, history, and rhetoric of the Economic Sophisms.  

Other "Sophisms" written and unwritten↩

Bastiat's Political or Electoral Sophisms

Bastiat also wrote what might be called "political sophisms" to debunk fallacies of a political nature, especially concerning electoral politics and the ability of political leaders to initiate fundamental reforms. He had hinted in the Conclusion to ES1 that he had more in mind than the debunking of just economic sophisms. He explicitly mentions four specific types of sophistry which concerned him, namely theocratic, economic, political, and financial sophistry. [92]

Pour voler le public, il faut le tromper. Le tromper c'est lui persuader qu'on le vole pour son avantage; c'est lui faire accepter en échange de ses biens des services fictifs, et souvent pis. — De là le Sophisme. —Sophisme théocratique, Sophisme économique, Sophisme politique, Sophisme financier. — Donc, depuis que la force est tenue en échec, le Sophisme n'est pas seulement un mal, c'est le génie du mal. Il le faut tenir en échec à son tour. — Et, pour cela, rendre le public plus fin que les fins, comme il est devenu plus fort que les forts.

In order to steal from the public it is necessary to decceive it.To deceive it is to persuade it that one is stealing from it for its own good; it is to make it accept in exchange for its goods (some) services which are imaginary (or false - "fictif"), and often worse. From this comes "Sophisms" - theorcratic sophisms, economic sophisms, political sophisms, financial sophisms. Thus, since force is held in check, Sophisms are not only harmful, they are the genius behind the harms. It is necessary that they be held in check in their turn. And in order to do that, we have to make the public smarter than smart, just as they have become stronger than the strong.

Bastiat devoted most of his efforts to exposing economic sophisms, mentioning theocratic and financial sophisms only in passing. He did however write a number of political sophisms which will be briefly discussed here.

"Economic" and "political" sophisms are closely related in his mind because the advocates of protectionism were only able to get special privileges because they controlled the Chamber of Deputies and the various Councils which advised the government on economic policy. [93] Bastiat wrote five sophisms which can be categorized as political sophisms. Here is a brief summary of their content and why they should be considered another form of Bastiat's "sophisms":

1. "Sophismes électoraux" (Electoral Sophisms) (undated but probably c. 1847) is a Benthamite listing of the kinds of false arguments people give for why they might prefer voting for one candidate over another. [94]
2. "Dialogue électoral" (An Election Dialogue) (n.d. c.1847) is in a constructed dialog form, much like many of the economic sophisms, between a "countryman" (farmer) (much like Bastiat's standard Jacques Bonhomme character he so often uses) who argues with a political writer, a parish priest, and an electoral candidate. [95]
3. "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) (ES2 10. c.1847) is a discussion between Jacques Bonhomme and a tax collector, wickedly called "Mr. Blockhead," where an amusing and somewhat convoluted discussion about the nature of political representation takes place. Bonhomme is merely confused by the trickery of the tax collector's euphemisms about how the elected deputies in the Chamber are the true representatives of his interests. [96]
4. "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) (Jan. 1847, LE) (ES2 11) reveals the problems faced by a free market reform-minded Minister who is unexpectedly put in charge of the country by the King. There is so much the utopian reformer wants to do but the dilemmas and ultimate failure of top-down political and economic reform are exposed by Bastiat. [97]
5. "L'État" (The State) (11-15 June 1848 JB ) is where Bastiat firstly asks for a good definition of the state (he offers a financial reward if someone can) before providing his famous definition of the State as "The state is the great fiction by which everyone endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else." In this formulation he substitutes the word "fiction" for what he might elsewhere have called a "fallacy" or "sophism". "The State" appeared initially as a draft in the magazine Jacques Bonhomme (June 11-15, 1848) and then in a longer form in the Journal des Débats (September 1848). Here he attempts to rebut the folly of the idea which was widespread during the first few months following the February Revolution that the state could and should take care of all the needs of the people by taxing everybody and giving benefits to everybody. [98]

The Sophism Bastiat never wrote: the Sophism of the Ricochet Effect

As the second series of Economic Sophisms was being printed in January 1848 Bastiat expressed some regret in a public lecture he gave for the Free Trade Association at the Salle Montesquieu in Paris that he had never got around to writing a Sophism explicitly about what he called "le sophisme des ricochets" (the sophism of the ricochet effect). He had used the term several times before during the course of 1847 but he had never gathered his thoughts on the topic in any coherent way and he was to continue using the term until late in 1850 when his throat condition brought his work to an end. [99] Many in the audience must have read his earlier thoughts on the matter as they responded very positively to his comments about his plans for “the next edition” of the Economic Sophisms which he promised would contain such an essay. He was reflecting on why the Swiss refused to impose tariffs on their economy in spite of the fact that they had large landowners as France did. The answer, he thought, lay in the fact that Swiss voters were not deceived by the sophistical arguments about the claimed benefits to ordinary workers of the “gros avantages par ricochet” (the considerable advantages of the ricochet effect). Bastiat argued that the Swiss were different from other Europeans on the question of tariffs not because they lived in a mountainous country (as some defenders of French tariffs maintained) but because they had not been duped by the protectionists: [100]

Voici d’abord la Suisse : c’est le pays le plus démocratique de l’Europe. Là, l’ouvrier a un suffrage qui pèse autant que celui de son chef. Et la Suisse n’a pas voulu de douane même fiscale.	So let us look at Switzerland. It is the most democrtic country in Europe. There, a worker has a vote which is just as valuable as that of his boss. And Switzerland doesn't want to have tariffs, even a fiscal one.
Ce n’est pas qu’il ait manqué de gros propriétaires de champs et de forêts, de gros entrepreneurs qui aient essayé d’implanter en Suisse la restriction. Ces hommes qui vendent des produits disaient à ceux qui vendent leur travail : Soyez bonnes gens ; laissez-nous renchérir nos produits, nous nous enrichirons, nous ferons de la dépense, et il vous en reviendra de gros avantages par ricochet. (Hilarité.) Mais jamais ils n’ont pu persuader au peuple suisse qu’il fût de son avantage de payer cher ce qu’il peut avoir à bon marché. La doctrine des ricochets n’a pas fait fortune dans ce pays. Et, en effet, il n’y a pas d’abus qu’on ne puisse justifier par elle. Avant 1830, on pouvait dire aussi : C’est un grand bonheur que le peuple paye une liste civile de 36 millions. La cour mène grand train, et l’industrie profite par ricochet…	It is not that they lack the large owners of fields and forests and the big entrepreneurs who would like to try to impose trade restrictions in Switzerland. These men who sell their products say to those who sell their labour: Be good, let us raise the price of our products, and we will all get richer, we will spend more and you will get great benefits "by ricochet". (Laughter.) But they have never been able to persuade the Swiss people that it would be to their advantgage to pay more for what they could have cheaply. The theory of "the ricochet effect" has not done well in this country. And in fact, there is no abuse that one couldn't justify by using it. Before 1830 (the end of the Bourbons and the coming to power of the July Monarchy) one could also have said, it is a source of great joy that the people pay Fr. 36 million for the Civil List. The Court lives it up, and industriy profits from it "by ricochet."
En vérité, je crois que, dans certain petit volume, j’ai négligé d’introduire un article intitulé : Sophisme des ricochets. [ii-321]	Truthfully, I think that in that small book (SE1 just published) I forgot to include an essay with the title "the Sophism of the Ricochet Effects".
Je réparerai cet oubli à la prochaine édition. (Hilarité prolongée.)	I will fix this oversight in the next edition. (Prolonged laughter).
Nos adversaires disent que l’exemple de la Suisse ne conclut pas, parce que c’est un pays de montagnes. (Rires.) Voyons donc un pays de plaines.	Our adversaries claim that the example provided by the Swiss doesn’t count because it is a mountainous country. [laughter]. So let us look at a country full oif plains. (i.e. Holland)

He didn’t have to wait until the next edition of the Economic Sophisms to do this. In an essay he wrote soon afterwards, ES3 18 “Monita secreta” (The Secret Handbook) (20 February 1848), [101] he mentioned the term “ricochet” five times but it never saw publication in a third collection of Sophisms in his lifetime. The next spurt of interest came in 1849 and 1850 when he was frantically writing chapters for the Economic Harmonies. There was no mention of ricochet is the first part which was published in his lifetime (January 1850), but in the notes and fragments he left behind which Paillottet put together for the second half of the treatise which appeared in July 1851, it too contained five mentions of the theory of the ricochet effect. A hint perhaps of the importance Bastiat was placing on this new kind of economic sophism.

The word “ricochet” is a curious one for an economist like Bastiat to adopt. Its traditional meanings include, as in English, an object bouncing off objects in its path, such as a flat stone being bounced off the surface of a body of water. It also had a military meaning, referring to the strategy of firing artillery shells high in the air so they would land just behind the wall of a fortress thereby causing maximum damage to the walls and to any humans standing nearby from flying shrapnel. [102] There were also several uses of the word in political writings in the 1830s and 1840s. The socialist Charles Fourier used it in Le Nouveau monde industriel et sociétaire (1829) as part of his theory of class, where he talks about the "ricochet de mépris des supérieurs aux inférieurs, et ricochet de haines des inférieurs aux supérieurs" (the flow (ricochet) of disdain by the superior classes to the inferior, and the flow (ricochet) of hatred of the inferior classes for the superior classes" [pp. 324-5.] [103]

The anarchist socialist Proudhon used the term as part of his theory of property developed in Qu'est-ce que la propriété? (1841). He believed that the ownership of property creates a privilege and a benefit which puts the worker on wages at a disadvantage to the property owner on the "social ladder" (l'échelle sociale) resulting in "un ricochet de spoliation du plus fort au plus faible" (a cascade of plunder by the strongest of the weakest) where "la dernière classe du peuple est littéralement mise à nu et mangée vive par les autres" (the lowest class of the people is literally stripped naked and eaten alive by the others). [104]

Closer to home, the classical liberal economist and associate of Bastiat’s Louis Reybaud used it in his amusing critiques of French society and politics, Mémoires de Jérôme Paturet, which appeared in serial form between 1843 and 1848, in particular his witty critique of how bureaucracies functioned. Reybaud describes the behaviour of individuals within the "ruche bureaucratique" (bureauocratic hive) where appointments are solicited by the weak and powerless of the powerful and well-connected thus creating a network of obligation and control throughout the hierarchy which radiates outwards to infinity ("ces ricochets allaient à l'infini"). This and other insights come from his witty and clever satirical stories about the exploits of the ambitious Jérôme Paturot about whom he wrote for over 20 years to much popular acclaim. In the story "Paturot publiciste officiel" Jérôme visits a friend who works in a large government bureaucracy and as the public servants stream out of the building at the end of the work day his friend explains the nepotism and connections which got them their jobs: [105]

La vie des employés peut se résumer par deux préoccupations : arri- ver le plus tard possible, partir le plus tôt possible; et, si l'on y ajoute travailler le moins possible, on obtient les trois termes de l'exis- tence administrative. …

The life of the employees can be summarized by two preoccupations: to arrive as late as possible and to leave as soon as possible. And if you add to work as little as possible, then you get the three ends of administrative existence …

Nous sortîmes, et déjà l'essaim des employés sortait aussi, en bourdonnant, de la ruche bureaucratique. Depuis une heure, on brossail les chapeaux, les paletots et les pantalons; on essuyait la poussière des pupitres, on rangeait dans les casiers les papiers épars. La taille des plumes était généralement suspendue, et le mot commencé remis au lendemain. Les employés défilèrent devant nous, les supérieurs comme les inférieurs. Max me les nomma, en me mettant au courant de leurs fonctions, à peu près aussi lourdes que les siennes, en me récapitulant leurs chances et me nommant leurs protecteurs. Les députés jouaient encore un grand rôle dans cette hiérarchie : les bu- reaux étaient peuplés de leurs créatures. Fils de député, cousin de député, neveu de député, filleul de député, voilà ce qui retentissait à mon oreille. D'autres fois, l'influence était indirecte sans être moins active. C'était un électeur considérable qui recommandait au député, lequel .recommandait à son tour au ministre. Ces ricochets allaient à l'infini; de sorte qu'on pouvait, à la rigueur, dire que pas un employé ne se trouvait là à cause de son propre mérite et pour ses services per- sonnels. La faveur dominait, et avec elle l'impéritie.

We have left, and already the buzzing swarm of employées also leaves the bureaucratic hive. For an hour, they have been brushing their hats, their coats, and their trousers. They wiped the dust from their desks, they sorted their scattered papers into the filing cabinets. They have put away their pens and the word they have begun writing is left for the next day. The employees file out before us, both the senior bureaucrats as well as the junior ones. Max names them for me, telling me about their functions (pretty much as weighty as his), summing up their future prospects and telling me who their protectors are. Deputies (i.e. elected politicians) still play a very important role in this hierarchy: the bureaux were populated with their creatures. The son of a Deputy, the cousin of a Deputy, the nephew of a Deputy, the god child of a Deputy, these were the words which resounded in my ears. On the other hand, their influence was indirect without being any less powerful. There was an influential voter who was recommended to a Deputy, who in his turn recommended him to the Minister. These "ricochets" go on to infinity; in this way one could say, at a pinch, that no employee holds his position because of his own merit or his personal ability. Favouritism dominates and with this, incompetence.

Bastiat knew the work of Fourier, Proudhon, and Reybaud and would no doubt have been familiar with their ideas about the ricochet effect. However, whereas they use the term “ricochet” in a vertical sense, of waves of hatred and disdain going up and down the social hierarchy, or ties of power and influence going up and down the levels within a bureaucracy, Bastiat uses the word in a horizontal sense. In fact, he seems to view it much like horizontal flows of water (or electricity) which radiate out from a central point. Thus, by "the ricochet effect" Bastiat meant the concatenation of effects caused by a single economic event which "rippled" outwards from its source causing indirect flow on effects to third and other parties. [106] A key insight behind this term is the idea that all economic (and possibly political ones as well) events are tied together by webs of connectivity and mutual influence which are not always immediately obvious to the observer. It links up very nicely with his theory of "the seen and the unseen" which he developed at length in a longer pamphlet What is Seen and What is Not Seen (July 1850).

From his writings it is clear that he thought there were two different kinds of ricochet effects which made themselves felt within the economy: "negative ricochet effects" (NRE) as well as "positive ricochet effects" (PRE). An example of the former is a tax or tariff which raises the price of a particular commodity. It may have been designed to benefit a particular favoured industry and its employees (who may have been promised higher wages as a side benefit) but it has a ricochet effect in that the higher price flows though eventually to all consumers, including the protected or subsidized workers, and even other producers. If many other industries also receive benefits from the state in the form of subsidies and tariffs the cost structure of the entire economy is eventually raised as a result of similar ricochet effects. As Bastiat argues, all increased costs and taxes are eventually borne by consumers: [107]

Ainsi, en France, on a soumis le vin à une foule d'impôts et d'entraves. Ensuite on a inventé pour lui un régime qui l'empêche de se vendre au dehors.	Thus in France wine production is subject to a mass of taxes and restrictions. Then we invented for it a regime which prevents it being sold abroad.
Voici par quels ricochets le mal tend à passer du producteur [349] au consommateur. Immédiatement après que l'impôt et l'entrave sont mis en œuvre, le producteur tend à se faire dédommager. Mais la demande des consommateurs, ainsi que la quantité de vin, restant la même, il ne peut en hausser le prix. Il n'en lire d'abord pas plus après la taxe qu'avant. Et comme avant la taxe, il n'en obtenait qu'une rémunération normale, déterminée par la valeur des services librement échangés, il se trouve en perte de tout le montant de la taxe. Pour que les prix s'élèvent, il faut qu'il y ait diminution dans la quantité de vin produite … [fb-23]	Here we see how harm, via the ricochet effect, is passed from the producer to the consumer. Immedciately after the imposition of the tax or the restriction the producer seeks to get compensation for it. But consumer demand as well as the quantity of wine remains the same so he cannot raise the price. He is no better off after the tax than he was before. And like before the tax, he only received the normal profit which is determined by the value of services which are freely exchanged, he finds himself making a loss of the entire amount of the tax. In order for prices to rise, it is necessary that there have been a reduction in the quantity of wine which is produced …
Le consommateur, le public est donc, relativement à la perte ou au bénéfice qui affectent d'abord telle ou telle classe de producteurs, ce que la terre est à l'électricité : le grand réservoir commun. Tout en sort, et après quelques détours plus ou moins longs, après avoir engendré des phénomènes plus ou moins variés, tout y rentre.	In relation to the profit or loss that initially affect this or that class of producers, the consumer, the general public, is what earth is to electricity: the great common reservoir. Everything comes out of this reservoir, and after a few more or less long detours, after the generation of a more or less great variety of phenomena, everything returns to it.
Nous venons de constater que les résultats économiques ne font que glisser, pour ainsi dire, sur le producteur pour aboutir au consommateur, et que, par conséquent, toutes les grandes questions doivent être étudiées au point de vue du consommateur, si l'on veut en saisir les conséquences générales et permanentes.	We have just noted that the economic results just flow over producers, to put it this way, before reaching consumers, and that consequently all the major questions have to be examined from the point of view of consumers if we wish to grasp their general and permanent consequences.

Examples of a “Positive Ricochet Effect” include the benefits of international free trade and technological inventions such as printing or steam powered transport. According to Bastiat, international free trade in the medium and long term has the effect of dramatically lowering costs for consumers and increasing their choice of things to buy. These lower costs and greater choice eventually flow on to all consumers thereby improving their standard of living. Technological inventions like steam powered locomotives or ships lower the cost of transport for every consumer and industry in an economy, thus lowering the overall cost structure and having an economy-wide PRE.

The “"Sophisme des ricochets"” (Sophism of the Ricochet Effect) comes about when an advocate for a new tariff or a new tax argues that only a PRE will take place (“the seen”) and ignores any possible NRE (“the unseen”). It is the task of the economist, Bastiat would argue, to point out the existence of the latter and to attempt to calculate the net effects for an economy. The difference between Bastiat’s theory of “The Seen and the Unseen” and the “Ricochet Effect” lies in the number of flow on effects and the number of individuals involved. With his formulation of “The Seen and the Unseen” in a Sophism like “The Broken Window” Bastiat develops the idea of the "la double incidence de la perte" (the double incidence of loss) - borrowed from Perronnet Thomasson [108] - as it applies to only three individuals not an entire economy: Jacques Bonhomme whose window in broken, the glazier who makes a sale in supplying him with a new one, and the bookseller who loses a sale because Jacques doesn’t buy a book because he has to fix his window. Thus, the gain for the glazier is outweighed by “the double incidence of loss” for Bonhomme and the bookseller so there can be no net gain for society according to Bastiat’s analysis.

With the theory of the “Ricochet Effect” Bastiat is arguing that the ripple effect of a broken window or a new tax is not limited to three individuals but thousands if not millions of other consumers and producers whose gains and losses must be summed up to the nth degree if an economist is to understand what the net effect on the economy is. Although Bastiat did not have the mathematical skills to do this calculation he is aware of the “infinite” number of possible effects an economic action might ultimately have (“des parallèles infinies”). [109] Which is why he wrote to his friend the astronomer François Arago at the Academy of Sciences for advice on how this might be calculated more precisely. [110]

Perhaps some examples from Bastiat’s scattered references to the Ricochet Effect will help illustrate the direction Bastiat’s thinking was taking him. Fourteen of them are listed in chronological order of date published in the Appendix below.

The concept of the “sophism of the ricochet effect” has different aspects with which Bastiat was grappling between 1847 and 1850. There was the sociological aspect of a relationship of power and influence which had been developed by Fourier, Proudhon, and Reybaud to explain the nature of power exercised between classes or within bureaucratic organizations. There was the economic aspect of flow on effects caused by an economic action which have an impact on others in the economy. These ricochet or flow on effects could have either a positive impact (PRE) or a negative impact (NRE) which was the task of the economist to explore and explain. The sophistical use of the ricochet effect was taken up by defenders of increased taxes or tariffs to show that their proposed measure would only have PRE for the nation and that any NRE would be minor or even non-existent. Economists like Bastiat used the ricochet effect in order to debunk this sophistry by showing firstly that there were always NRE which had to be taken into account and that these were almost always harmful to the interests of taxpayers and consumers at large. Furthermore, Bastiat would argue that there are some cases where the economist could say that the long term impact of an economic action could be described as producing absolute NRE or PRE for the economy as a whole. He would argue that high taxes and tariffs always produced net NRE for an economy, and that free trade and technological innovation always produced net PRE for an economy.

In the period between the publication of Economic Sophisms Series I (January 1846) and the appearance of Series II on the eve of the outbreak of the Revolution in February 1848 Bastiat had been exploring the concept of the “sophism of the ricochet effect” but had not yet fully developed it at any length. His most frequent references to it appeared in an article written in February 1848, ES3 18 “Monita secreta” (The Secret Handbook), [111] and in the second half of the Economic Harmonies which did not appear in his lifetime but only in the expanded edition edited by Paillottet and published in 1851. Each of these works had five references to the word “ricochet” which suggest that this was an idea which was of great interest to Bastiat in the last two years of his life. It is interesting to contemplate what he might have done with entirely new Sophism if he had had the time to explore it further.

The Intellectual Origins of Bastiat's Attack on Economic "Sophisms" and "Fallacies"↩

It is an interesting question to ask oneself where Bastiat got the idea of writing short, pithy essays for a popular audience in which he debunked the misconceptions ("sophisms" or "fallacies") people had about the operations of the free market in general and of free trade in particular. The history of attempts to popularize economic ideas is an interesting one which is checkered with some successes but many failures. Bastiat stands out as one of the few successful popularizers in the 19th century. See my paper on this checkered history. [112]

If refuting economic fallacies and sophisms was one of his ends, then the use of constructed conversations between two idealised representatives of conflicting points of view was often the means he chose to achieve that end. Both these aspects of Bastiat's Economic Sophisms will be explored here briefly.   There are three likely sources which might have inspired Bastiat with the idea of debunking "fallacies" - Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), Perronnet Thompson (1783-1869), [113] and Charles Dupin (1784-1873) [114] - and another two who might have shown him how constructed conversations between adversaries might be suitable in appealing to a popular audience - Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769-1858), [115] Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), [116] and Charles Dupin (again).

Debunking Fallacies: Jeremy Bentham, Col. Perronnet Thompson, and Charles Dupin

Jeremy Bentham

Some of Jeremy Bentham's writings appeared first in French as a result of the work of his colleague Étienne Dumont who translated, edited, and published several of Bentham's works in Switzerland before they appeared in English in Bowring's 1843 edition of his works. [117] These works were known to Bastiat who quoted from Bentham's Théorie des peines et des recompenses (1811) [118] and even used quotations from it as the opening mottoes for the Economic Sophisms Series I and Series II. [119] Bentham's attack on the notion of natural rights during the French Revolution, as expressed in the 1791 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, was eventually titled "Anarchical Fallacies" (it was written in 1795-1796 and had a number of working titles, one which was quite ribald) and was not published in English during his lifetime but was published by Dumont in French in 1816. [120] In this work Bentham rejects the very notion of a natural right to liberty as literally "non-sense" and coined the unforgettable phrase that "Natural rights is simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense,—nonsense upon stilts." The method of analysis he adopted in this essay was to quote each article of the French Declaration and then to refute it methodically using very caustic language. Although Bastiat would not have agreed with Bentham on the content of his critique of natural rights he would have been impressed with Bentham's detailed enumeration of the "fallacies" and his humorous and sarcastic criticism of them, a method which Bastiat used to great effect in many of his own Sophisms. The trajectory of this method of critique was likely from Bentham, via Perronnet Thompson, to Bastiat. Bentham followed this work with another one which was more general in its scope: a Traité des sophismes politiques (Treatise on Political Sophisms) which also appeared in 1816, with an English version of the book appearing as the Handbook of Political Fallacies in 1824. [121] In the opening paragraph of this work Bentham defines a "fallacy", in a manner very similar to Basitat's use of the term "sophism", as follows:  

By the name of fallacy it is common to designate any argument employed or topic suggested for the purpose, or with the probability of producing the effect of deception, or of causing some erroneous opinion to be entertained by any person to whose mind such an argument may have been presented. [122]

  According to Crane Brinton, Bentham's purpose in categorizing and discussing the varieties of political fallacies which he had identified was to expose "the semantics of persuasion" [123] used by conservative political groups to delay or prevent much needed political reforms. Bentham organized his critique around the main sets of arguments which facilitated "the art of deception" [124] and which caused a "hydra" of sophistries which permitted "pernicious practices and institutions to be retained". [125] "Reason" on the other hand was the "instrument" [126] which would enable the reformer to create this new "good government" by a process of logical analysis and classification. As he stated: [127]  

To give existence to good arguments was the object of the former work (the Theory of Legislation); to provide for the exposure of bad ones is the object of the present one - to provide for the exposure of their real nature, and hence for the destruction of their pernicious force.

Sophistry is a hydra of which, in all the necks could be exposed, the force would be destroyed. In this work, they have been diligently looked out for, and in the course of it the principal and most active of them have been brought in view.

  Bastiat shared Bentham's view of "deception" as an ideological weapon used by powerful vested interests to protect their political and economic privileges. As we will see in our discussion of Bastiat's notion of "legal plunder", Bastiat saw that his task in writing the Sophisms was to enlighten "the dupes" who had been misled by "la Ruse", or the "trickery, "fraud" and "cunning" of the powerful beneficiaries of tariff protection and state subsidies. Bastiat also shared Bentham's view that "sophistry" is a like a hydra whose head can never be chopped off for good as it regrows its heads as fast as they are cut off. In Bastiat's case the beast is a "polyp" and the sophism he has in mind he calls "le sophisme souche" (the root of all sophisms) which was best articulated by Montaigne and which I will discuss in more detail below. [128]

Of all the various "sophistries" (or "sophisms") which allowed pernicious government to protect itself from reform, Bentham believed that they all could be categorized into four classes based upon the purpose or strategy the sophistry was designed to promote: the fallacies of authority, the fallacies of danger, the fallacies of delay, the fallacies of confusion. [129] Arguments from "authority" were designed to intimidate and hence repress the individual from reasoning through things himself; arguments about immanent "danger" were designed to frighten the would-be reformer with the supposed negative consequences of any change; arguments which urged caution and "delay" were designed to postpone discussion of reform until it could be ignored or forgotten; and arguments designed to promote "confusion" in the minds of reformers and their supporters were designed to make it difficult or impossible to form a correct judgement on the matter at hand. [130]   Bastiat on the other hand categorized the types of sophisms he was opposing along the lines of the particular social or political class interests the sophisms were designed to protect, which were categorized as "theocratic sophism," "economic sophism", "political sophism", and "financial sophism" which were designed to protect the interests (the "legal plunder") of the established Church; the Crown, aristocracy, and elected political officials; the economic groups who benefited from protection and subsidies; the bankers and debt holders of the government, respectively. [131] I have attempted to categorise Bastiat's different kinds of sophisms and fallacies along the lines done by Bentham. (See Appendix 1 below for details.)   Thus, it is quite likely that Bastiat took not only the name "sophismes" (which is how Dumont translated Bentham's term "fallacies" for the French edition) from Bentham for the title of his essays and books, but also the purpose as defined by Bentham, namely to debunk "any argument employed which causes some erroneous opinion to be entertained by any person to whose mind such an argument may have been presented." Furthermore, whereas Bentham focussed on "political fallacies" used by opponents of political reforms, Bastiat's interest was in exposing "economic fallacies" which were used to prevent reform of the policies of government taxation, subsidies to industry, and most especially protection of domestic industry via tariffs. [132]

Whereas Bentham uses relentless reasoning and classification to make his points, Bastiat uses other methods, such as humour, his reductio ad absurdum approach to his opponents's arguments, and his many references to classical French literature and popular song and poetry. Nevertheless, Bastiat's modification of Bentham's rhetorical strategy seems to describe Bastiat's agenda and method in opposing the ideas of the protectionists in France in the mid-1840s quite nicely, and shows the considerable influence Bentham had on Bastiat's general approach to identifying and debunking "fallacies."

Charles Dupin

  A second influence on Bastiat's approach to debunking economic error and myths in popular thinking came from Baron Charles Dupin (1784-1873). In the late 1820s Dupin wrote a seven volume work Le petit producteur français (1827) which contained a spirited defence of the free market and those merchants, traders, and entrepreneurs who were engaged in providing goods and services for that market. Dupin was a Deputy, engineer, and lecturer at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, where he taught courses for working people. He is important in the development of Bastiat's ideas for a number of reasons: firstly, he dedicated volume 4 of his work, "Le petit commerçant français", to the "students of the Business schools of Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux" [133] which brings to mind Bastiat's dedication of his magnum opus, Economic Harmonies, "To the Youth of France"; [134] secondly, his stated aim was "refuting the long term and entrenched errors concerning the interests of commerce" [135] which was also Bastiat's aim in writing the Sophisms; thirdly, Dupin's efforts to speak to a popular audience on economic matters was duplicated several times by Bastiat as shown by the formation of several magazines and newspapers, such as the free trade journal Le Libre-Échange and the revolutionary broadside Jacques Bonhomme; and fourthly, the use of constructed conversations using stock figures to make his theoretical points. Concerning the latter, Bastiat borrows one of these stock figures directly from Dupin, a "M. Prohibant" (Mr. "Prohibiter" or Protectionist), in What is Seen and What is Unseen and it provided the model for other characters which Bastiat used, such as "M. Blockhead" which was the name he gave in one of his Sophisms to a particularly abstruse and annoying tax collector. [136] I quote in full Dupin's rousing dedication of his book because of the striking similarities it shows to much of Bastiat's own approach some 20 years later:

AUX ÉLÈVES DES ÉCOLES DU COMMERCE ÉTABLIES A PARIS, A LYON ET A BORDEAUX. JEUNES ÉLÈVES,	To the Students of the Commerce Schools in Paris, Lyion and Bordeaux. Young Students,
Je vous dédie ce petit ouvrage écrit dans le but de réfuter des erreurs long-temps accréditées, sur les intérêts du commerce.	I dedicate this small book written with the aim of refuting the errors which have for a long time been attributed to the (selfish) interests of commerce.
Les années n'ont encore enraciné dans vos esprits aucun préjugé funeste aux progrès de l'industrie, aucun préjugé funeste à la paix, à la concorde des sociétés humaines.	Over the years there has been no harmful prejudice which has not taken root in your minds, prejudices against the progress of industy, against peace, and against the harmony of human society
Puissiez-vous garantir toujours votre raison de ces erreurs et de ces préjugés!	You must always protect your minds from these errors and these prejudices!
Il doit exister une alliance intime entre les préceptes de la morale, et les préceptes de l'économie sociale. Car la morale est la théorie de la société.	There has to exist a close alliance between the principles of morality and the principels of social economy. This is because morality is the theoretical basis of society.
Perfectionnez-vous à la fois dans l'intelligence et dans la pratique de cette théorie ; apprenez ses applications; et, pour devenir des commerçants accomplis, devenez chaque jour plus hommes de bien et meilleurs citoyens.	Improve both your minds and the practice of this theory; learn how it is applied; and in order to become accomplished businessmen, every day become better men and better citizens.
J'ai voulu rendre mes idées plus sensibles en leur ôtant toute apparence d'abstraction : un simple voyage et quelques conversations [x] m'ont semblé suffire pour porter la conviction dans l'esprit des lecteurs qui n'auront pas de préventions insurmontables.	I want to make my ideas more approachable by removing any appearnce of abstraction; a simple journey and some conversations (with others) seem to me to be sufficient to establish this belief in the minds of my readers who do not have any insurmountable biases.
En prêtant au personnage fictif de M. Prohibant les raisonnements sur lesquels s'appuient des systèmes commerciaux trop longtemps préconisés, ne croyez pas que je combatte des erreurs aujourd'hui généralement discréditées. Vous verrez, au contraire, qu'à présent même, d'un bout à l'autre de la France, dans presque toutes nos cités, chez les commerçants, les fabricants et les propriétaires attachés encore aux idées surannées, la même intolérance commerciale se présente à l'observateur attentif, sous mille formes diverses, et toutes justifiées en apparence par des sophismes analogues.	By giving arguments to a fictional person, M. Prohibant (M. Prohibition), arguments which the (current) commercial system has accepted for a very long time, don't believe that I am combatting errors which today have been generally discredited. You will see to the contrary, that at the present time from one end of France to the other, in almost all our cities, among merchants, manufacturers, and land owners, there exists the same attachment to superannuated ideas, the same intolerance of commerce which is visible to the attentive observer, in thousands of diverse forms, all of which are justified to all appearances by similar sophisms.
Puissé-je vous mettre en garde contre tous ces sophismes que trop d'individus nous présentent comme autant de maximes enfantées par la sagesse de nos pères! c'étaient des illusions de leurs connaissances imparfaites sur les fondements véritables des prospérités sociales.	Let me warn you against (believing) all these sophisms which so many people tell us are so many maxims which have arisen from the wisdom of our forefathers! They are illusions created by their imperfect knowlewdge of the true foundations of social prosperity.
Jeunes élèves, agréez les vœux que forme, pour le développement de vos vertus, le progrès de votre raison et le succès de votre carrière future,	Young Students, accept my best wishes for the develoment of your character, the improvement of your mind, and success in your future career,
Votre ami, CHARLES DUPIN.	Your friend, CHARLES DUPIN

Colonel Thomas Perronnet Thompson

A third influence came from the exotically named Colonel Thomas Perronnet Thompson (1783-1869). During the late 1820s and early 1830s the Benthamite soldier, politician, polymath, pamphleteer, and agitator for the Anti-Corn Law League, Perronnet Thompson wrote a series of works which no doubt came to Bastiat's attention. Bastiat followed the activities of the British Anti-Corn Law League very closely and Perronnet Thompson was one of its best known writers. In 1827 Perronnet Thompson wrote a work very much influenced by the Benthamite methodology, the Catechism on the Corn Laws; with a List of Fallacies and Answers (1827) where he methodically listed quotations by advocates of protectionism in one column with their refutation alongside in another column of text. [137] Bastiat did something similar in ES2.04 "Conseil inférieur du travail)" (The Lower Council of Labor) where he draws up tables listing the advantages and disadvantages (costs vs benefits) in separate columns for tailors and blacksmiths by protectionism. [138]

Bastiat would probably have known about a similar attempt by J.B. Say to put free market ideas into the form of a religious catechism or a collection of pithy sayings in his Catéchisme d'économie politique, ou Instruction familière (Catechism of Political Economy, or Familiar Lessons) (1815) [139] and Petit volume contenant quelques apperçus des hommes et de la société (A Small Book containing Some Insights into Men and Society) (1817). [140] These efforts were rather lame and strained and were not successful and so not republished (though the Catechism was translated into English). The opposite was true for Perronnet Thompson's efforts who became one of the Anti-Corn Law League's most popular authors and speakers.

Perronnet's work was so popular that he wrote other variants such as the Corn Law Fallacies, with the Answers (1839) [141] and specifically for the French market the Contre-Enquête: par l'Homme aux Quarante Ecus (1834) which was a defense of free trade written in response to a French government inquiry. [142]

Conversations about Liberty: Jane Marcet and Harriet Martineau

  The second aspect of Bastiat's Economic Sophisms which deserves exploring is his use of the constructed conversations using stock figures to represent the different sides in the argument about free trade and protection, such as "The Free Trader" vs. "The Protectionist", "The Economist" vs. "The Prohibitionist", "The Economist" vs. "The Artisan", and so on. This was an obvious attempt to appeal to a more popular audience who were repelled by serious theoretical economic analysis of problems such as free trade vs. protectionism. We have already examined the example which Charles Dupin supplied for Bastiat's approach with M. Prohibant but there are two female economists whose work should be mentioned in this context, namely Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769-1858) and Harriet Martineau (1802-1876).  

Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769-1858)

Jane Haldimand Marcet was the daughter of a Swiss businessman who lived in London and married a Swiss doctor who had come to know her through her writings. She wrote introductory works on science and political economy which were designed to be accessible to ordinary working people. In her Conversations on Political Economy; in which the elements of that science are familiarly explained (1st edition 1816; 6th enlarged ed. 1827) [143] she typically had a family group gather around the kitchen table or other domestic setting to discuss the issues of the day in a "familiar" manner where a strong and outspoken figure ("Mrs. B." based upon the older Jane Marcet) would present the free market case to the ill-informed and sceptical folk 9like "Caroline", the young Jane Marcet). Other popular works included a multi-volume collection of Pamphlet Essays (1831) written for the "working population", [144] and another collection of conversations involving "John Hopkins" and friends, John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833). [145] Her book Conversations on Political Economy was translated immediately into French by her nephew and published in Switzerland in 1817 so it would have been available to Bastiat in either English or French editions. [146] Being a French speaker she was familiar with the work of Mirabeau, Jean-Baptiste Say, and Sismondi; not to mention Adam Smith and David Ricardo.

Marcet was a strong supporter of the free market, free trade, and industrialisation and she understood the problems supporters of free trade faced in getting their ideas understood by the general population. She is quite explicit about this in the Preface to Conversations on Political Economy where she discuses the role "conversations" can play in educating those unfamiliar with economic thought, the audience she wanted to address, and her pioneering role in being one of the first to attempt this, at least in English. (See my essay on “The Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" on Say's failed attempt to do this in French). [147] In important ways to predates Bastiat's own concerns about the appropriate and most effective style for a populariser to use in appealing to a young and ill-informed readership. Where she differs from Bastiat is that she lacks his wit and literary flair, so most of her conversations are flat, predicable, and rather boring. She also lacks Bastiat's deep and often original thinking about economic theory which lies beneath the surface of what appears to be clever and amusing journalism. Nevertheless, Marcet was a pioneer in this field whose books went through multiple editions, and therefore deserves much credit for that. The following passage is the entire Preface to Conversations on Political Economy in which she stated the problems she and others faced: [148]

In offering to the Public this small work, in which it is attempted to bring within the reach of young persons a science which no English writer has yet presented in an easy and familiar form, the author is far from inferring, from the unexpected success of a former elementary work, on the subject of Chemistry, that the present attempt is likely to be received with equal favour. Political Economy, though so immediately connected with the happiness and improvement of mankind, and the object of so much controversy and speculation among men of knowledge, is not yet become a popular science, and is not generally considered as a study essential to early education. This work, therefore, independently of all its defects, will have to contend against the novelty of the pursuit with young persons of either sex, for the instruction of whom it is especially intended. If, however, it should be found useful, and if, upon the whole, the doctrines it contains should appear sound and sufficiently well explained, the author flatters herself that this attempt will not be too severely judged. She hopes it will be remembered that in devising the plan of this work, she was in a great degree obliged to form the path she has pursued, and had scarcely any other guide in this popular mode of viewing the subject than the recollection of the impressions she herself experienced when she first turned her attention to this study; though she has subsequently derived great assistance from the kindness of a few friends, who revised her sheets as she advanced in the undertaking.

As to the principles and materials of the work, it is so obvious that they have been obtained from the writings of the great masters who have treated this subject, and more particularly from those of Dr. Adam Smith, of Mr. Malthus, M. Say, M. Sismondi, Mr. Ricardo, and Mr. Blake, that the author has not thought it necessary to load these pages with repeated acknowledgments and incessant references.

It will immediately be perceived by those to whom the subject is not new, that a few of the most abstruse questions and controversies in Political Economy have been entirely omitted, and that others have been stated and discussed without any positive conclusion being deduced. This is a defect unavoidably attached not only to the author’s limited knowledge, but also to the real difficulty of the science. In general, however, when the soundness of a doctrine has appeared well established, it has been stated conscientiously, without any excess of caution or reserve, and with the sole object of diffusing useful truths.

It has often been a matter of doubt among the author’s literary advisers, whether the form of dialogues, which was adopted in the Conversations on Chemistry, should be preserved in this Essay. She has, however, ultimately decided for the affirmative; not that she particularly studied to introduce strict consistency of character, or uniformity of intellect, in the remarks of her pupil, — an attempt which might have often impeded the elucidation of the subject; but because it gave her an opportunity of introducing objections, and placing in various points of view questions and answers as they had actually occurred to her own mind, — a plan which would not have suited a more didactic composition. It will be observed, accordingly, that the colloquial form is not here confined to the mere intersection of the argument by questions and answers, as in common schoolbooks; but that the questions are generally the vehicle of some collateral remarks contributing to illustrate the subject; and that they are in fact such as would be likely to arise in the mind of an intelligent young person, fluctuating between the impulse of her heart and the progress of her reason, and naturally imbued with all the prejudices and popular feelings of uninformed benevolence.

I would like to provide a couple of examples to illustrate Marcet's method and style. The first is a "pedestrian" one where an older woman "Mrs. B" has a conversation, or rather seems to instruct, a younger woman "Caroline" on the benefits of free trade. Note the similar emphasis Marcet places on the mutual benefits of exchange and the greater importance of the consumer over the the producer, as Bastiat does in his work: [149]

Caroline.

I confess that before this explanation I never could comprehend how foreign trade could be a mutual advantage to the countries engaged in it, for I imagined that what was gained by the one was lost by the other.

Mrs. B.

All free trade, of whatever description, must be a mutual benefit to the parties engaged in it; the only difference that can exist with regard to profit is, that it may not always be equally divided between them. An opposition of interests takes place, not between merchants or countries exchanging their commodities, but between rival dealers in the same commodity; and it is from that circumstance probably that you have been led to form such an erroneous idea of commerce. Do you not recollect our observing, some time since, that competition amongst dealers to dispose of their commodities renders them cheap, whilst competition amongst purchasers renders them dear? When you make any purchase, are you not sensible that the greater the number of shops in the same neighbourhood dealing in the same commodity, the more likely you are to purchase it at a low price?

Caroline.

Yes, because the shopkeepers endeavour to undersell each other.

Mrs. B.

It is therefore the interest of the dealer to narrow competition, whilst it is that of the consumer to enlarge it. Now which do you suppose to be the interest of the country at large?

Caroline.

That of the consumers; for every man is a consumer, even the dealers themselves, who, though they are desirous of preventing competition in their own individual trade, must wish for it in all other species of commerce.

Mrs. B.

No doubt; it is by free and open competition alone that extravagant prices and exorbitant profits are prevented, and that the public are supplied with commodities as cheap as the dealer can afford to sell them.

The second example is a rather bizarre collection of stories which were part of John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833). In these stories the "conversations" about economic principles gets submerged into fairy tales, with literally a fairy who waves a magic wand to bring about economic change, and a story about "three giants" who are captured and tamed by some settlers on a desert island to help improve their economic situation. Marcet must have thought fairy tales like these would make economics appealing to her readers in the 1820s and 1830s, but I have my doubts and much prefer Bastiat's "economic fables" to hers. The tales involve John Hopkins, "a poor labourer, who had a large family of children to support upon very scanty wages." He blames his hard circumstances on the very existence of the wealthy landlords who provide him and his friends with paid work. Because he thinks that they are rich because he is poor he asks a Fairy to assist him by granting two wishes. Naturally there are "unintended consequences" which he comes to realise in the end and then asks her to wave her wand again in order to restore the world to what it was before.

In the first story "The Rich and the Poor. A Fairy Tale" John Hopkins asks the fairy to rid the world of wealthy landlords and all the luxuries they enjoyed: [150]

"Here am I half starving," said he, "while my landlord rides about in a fine carriage; his children are pampered with the most dainty fare, and even his servants are bedizened with gaudy liveries: in a word, rich men, by their extravagance, deprive us poor men of bread. In order to gratify them with luxuries, we are debarred almost the necessaries of life."—"'Tis a pitiable case, honest friend," replied the Fairy, "and I am ready to do all in my power to assist you and your distressed friends. Shall I, by a stroke of my wand, destroy all the handsome equipages, fine clothes and dainty dishes, which offend you?"—"Since you are so very obliging," said honest John, in the joy of his heart, "it would perhaps be better to destroy all luxuries whatever: for, if you confine yourself to those you mention, the rich would soon have recourse to others; and it will scarcely cost you more than an additional stroke of your wand to do the business outright, and get rid of the evil root and branch."

No sooner said than done. The good-natured Fairy waved her all-powerful wand, and, wonderful to behold! the superb mansion of the landlord shrunk beneath its stroke, and was reduced to a humble thatched cottage. The gay colours and delicate textures of the apparel of its inhabitants faded and thickened, and were transformed into the most ordinary clothing; the green-house plants sprouted out cabbages, and the pinery produced potatoes. A similar change took place in the stables and coach-house: the elegant landau was seen varying in form, and enlarging in dimensions, till it become a waggon; while the smart gig shrunk and thickened into a plough. The manes of the horses grew coarse and shaggy, their coats lost all brilliancy and softness, and their legs became thick and clumsy: in a word, they were adapted to the new vehicles they were henceforward to draw.

Honest John was profuse in his thanks, but the Fairy stopped him short. "Return to me at the end of the week," said she; "it will be time enough for you to express your gratitude when you can judge how much reason you have to be obliged to me."

Gradually he comes to realise that poor laborers like himself and the rich landlords he despises are mutually dependent upon each other. Since there is no one who is able to pay his wages in their absence for the work he does, he and his friends are unemployed. He releases his mistake and asks the fairy to undo what she had done: [151]

Poor John was now reduced to despair. The cries of distress from people thrown out of work every where assailed his ears. He knew not where to hide his shame and mortification till the eventful week had expired, when he hastened to the Fairy, threw himself on his knees, and implored her to reverse the fatal decree, and to bring back things to what they had been before. The light wand once more waved in the air, but in a direction opposite to that in which it before moved; and immediately the stately mansion rose from the lowly cottage; the heavy teams began to prance and snort, and shook their clumsy harness till they became elegant trappings: but most of all was it delightful to see the turned-off workmen running to their looms and their spindles; the young girls and old women enchanted to regain possession of their lost lace-cushions, on which they depended for a livelihood; and every thing offering a prospect of wealth and happiness, compared to the week of misery they had passed through.

Not having properly learnt his lesson John Hopkins asks the dairy for another favour, this time to double his wages with the wave of her wand in "Wages: A Fairy Story". The result is that the supply of goods has not increased as well so the extra wages bid up the prices of everything, thus making the apparent" doubling of monetary wages meaningless. pp. [152]

The story of "The Three Giants" [153] is a paean to the benefits to ordinary working people of industrialisation and the harnessing of the forces of water, wind, and steam for industrial purposes. "A poor labouring man" Jobson and his family set sail to seek his fortune and is shipwrecked on an island. There they meet other colonists on the island and begin building a more prosperous life with the aid of three giants they come across - called by Marcet "giants in nature" (p. 32) who "are willing to do all the good to mankind that lies in their power". The settlers learn to capture and tame the giants in order to use them to provide all kinds of productive and useful work for them. Their names were Aquafluentes (flowing water), Ventosus "the winged giant", and Vaporoso (the cloud of steam). The moral of the rather long story is that: [154]

"Well, it must be confessed," said Hopkins, "there is as much truth as fiction in your tale."

"Then Ventosus," continued the pedlar…"Oh, stop," cried Tom, interrupting him; "let me try to guess what Ventosus means." After thinking awhile, he exclaimed,—"I do think Ventosus must be the wind; because, when he quarrels with his brother, Aquafluentes, he makes the waves rage, and swell, and foam. Oh, it is certainly the wind which turns the mill to grind the corn."—"True," said Hopkins, thoughtfully; "the wind is another gigantic power in nature, for which we have never thought of being thankful. Well, my good friend," continued he, "your story has taught me that we possess blessings I little thought of; and I hope it will teach us to be grateful for them. But what is the third power, which is more able than the other two?"—"It is one you know less of,—it is steam; which, confined in the cylinder of the steam-engine, sets all our manufactures in motion. As it rises from boiling water, I have called it the son of water and of fire or heat. It is now, you know, applied to vessels at sea, acting always steadily and regularly, whilst the wind is not under our command. But, observe," said the pedlar, "though these powers do so much for men, they do not take the work out of their hands: on the contrary, when the mills or manufactures thrive, they give them more to do. It was the giant Vaporoso that introduced the cotton mills in this village, which gives so much work to all the folks in the neighbourhood; and if Ventosus did not grind the corn, depend upon it there would not be half so much raised; no, nor near so many bakers: for, when men were obliged to bruise their corn themselves, it would take up the time which they can now give to sowing and reaping it."—"Nor would there be so many floored cottages, and doors, and window shutters, and tables, and chairs," said Tom (proud to show that he had not forgotten the number of articles mentioned in the tale), "if Aquafluentes had not been such a capital sawyer of wood."—"Well, but," said Dame Hopkins, who hitherto had made no remark, for, being busied about her domestic affairs, she had not heard above half the story, "if these giants do but make men work the more, I can't see what good they do them."—"Why, wife," answered Hopkins, "we don't want to be idle; but we want to earn a comfortable livelihood by our work; and I see now, that, if it were not for the help of these powers which nature has given us (and we must have been as blind as buzzards not to have observed them before), our cottage would have been unfloored, we should have had neither bedstead to lie on, chair to sit on, or table to eat off; and, what's worse still, a sad scarcity of bread to set on the table at meals. We have now the produce of our own work and of theirs also; and, as they do a hundred times more work than we can, why, we get a hundred times more food and clothing, and comforts of one kind or other."

One should compare Marcet's story of the Three Giants with its theme of how individuals on an island can harness the forces of nature in order to create prosperity with Bastiat's much more insightful stories about Robinson Crusoe and his efforts to do much the same on the Island of Despair. Whereas Marcet creates the fiction of the "giants" of nature who create wealth, Bastiat has Robinson put aside some food and other resources (saving) while he creates a tool (capital), which will enable him to produce more in the future. He then comes across Friday so the division of labour and cooperation can now also be used to increase their output for mutual benefit. Bastiat's stories are both much more theoretically rich and true to how the real world overstates - as opposed to the fairies and giants of Marcet.

One could argue that Marcet's stories urge a passive and non-political attitude on the part of workers to the problems of poverty and industrialisation, i.e. that there is no point in appealing to the "socialist fairy" to improve the condition of the rural and industrial workers in this still quite early stage of the industrial transformation of England. This of course was the stance taken by Friedrich Engels in his book Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England (The Condition of the Working Class in England) (1845) written after a stay in Salford and Manchester in 1842-44, so only 10 years after Marcet penned these tales. On the other hand, one could argue that they are more realistic in that they are urging workers to better understand the underlying economic forces at work in changing the world around them, the universal behaviour of human beings to economise on the use of their scarce resources, to engage in mutually beneficial exchanges with one other, and to see markets as cooperative and productive and not coercive and unproductive as the socialists would argue.

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

  At this time it was extraordinary to find one female popularizer of free market ideas, yet we have two when we include Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) who was a close contemporary of Bastiat (who was born in 1801). Martineau was an English writer who was born in Norwich to a family of French Huguenots who had fled religious persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Her father was a textile manufacturer and her poor health (she suffered from deafness) turned her towards reading widely and writing. She was unusual in becoming a professional full-time writer at a time when few women were able to pursue such a career. She was a translator, novelist, speech writer, and journalist who wrote a popular defence of the free market, pioneering travel writing about a trip to America [155] , and essays on women's rights. Her multi-volume Illustrations of Political Economy (9 vols. 1832-43) [156] was an introduction to economic principles written in narrative form which went far beyond Bastiat's efforts in its length and breadth. Bastiat's friend and colleague Gustave de Molinari said of her in his review of a French translation of her works in the Journal des Économistes in April 1849 that "she deserves her double reputation of an ingenious narrator and a learned professor of political economy." [157] Her influence on Bastiat was to show yet again the power of presenting economic ideas in a simple, popular form via simple, everyday stories or conversations between recognizable stock characters. Where she differed markedly from Bastiat was in the length of the stories and their number (she wrote nine volumes of the Illustrations) whereas Bastiat preferred the short and pithy magazine article of which he became a master exponent. Some of the topics she covered were the benefits of international free trade, the evils of strikes and machine breaking, and the morality of buying slave-produced sugar from Demerara.

The following example of her technique comes from the second volume in the series and concerns the morality of owning slaves and the economics of coerced labour. It should be noted that this volume was published on the eve of the emancipation of the slaves in the British colonies (the Slavery Abolition Act was passed in 1833) which took place between 1833 and 1839, so the problem it addresses has more than a passing interest. I have chosen it because Bastiat too was interested in the issue of plunder and the exploitation of coerced labour (and slavery). In this story a discussion is underway between a slave owner on the island of Demerara, Mr. Bruce, and his son Alfred who asks: [158]

“Why, then, has there been slavery in all ages of the world?”

“Because the race, like the individual, is slow in learning by experience: but the race has learned, and goes on to learn notwithstanding; and slavery becomes less extensive with the lapse of centuries. In ancient times, a great part of the population of the most polished states was the property of the rest. Those were the days when the lords of the race lived in barbarous, comfortless splendour, and the bulk of the people in extreme hardship;—the days of Greek and Roman slavery. Then came the bondage and villeinage of the Gothic nations,—far more tolerable than the ancient slavery, because the bondmen lived on their native soil, and had some [23] sort of mutual interest with their owners; but it was not till they were allowed property that their population increased, and the condition of themselves and their masters improved. The experience of this improvement led to further emancipation; and that comparative freedom again to further improvement, till the state of a boor as to health, comfort, and security of property, is now superior to that of the lord of his forefathers. In the same manner, my dear sir, it might be hoped that the condition of the descendants of your slaves, a thousand years hence, would be happier than yours to-day, if our slaves were the original inhabitants of the soil they till. As it is, I fear that our bad institutions will die out only in the persons of those most injured by them. But that they will die out, the slave-history of Europe is our warrant; and then, and then only, will the laws of England secure the property of Englishmen as fully abroad as at home. It is no reproach upon laws framed to secure righteous property, that they do not guard that which is unrighteous. Consider once more who are the parties to the law, and the case will be clear.

“The government and the holders of the property are the parties to the maintenance of the law. The infringers of the law are the third party, whom it is the mutual interest of the other two to punish. So the matter stands in England, where the law works comparatively well. Here the case is wholly changed by the second and third parties being identical, while the first [24] treats them as being opposed to each other, The infringer of the law,—that is, the rebellious slave, being the property of—that is, the same party with, his owner, the benefits of the compact are destroyed to all. If the slave is not to be punished, the owner's property (his plantation) is not safe. If he is punished, the owner's property (the slave) is injured. No wonder the master complains of the double risk to his property; but such risk is the necessary consequence of holding a subject of the law in property.”

“You put me in mind, son. of old Hodge's complaint,—you remember Hodge,—about his vicious bull. He thought it very hard that, after all the mischief done to his own stock, he should be compelled by the overseer to kill the bull. Hodge owned a rebellious subject of the law.”

“True; and Hodge was to be pitied, because there was no making a free labourer of his bull. But if he had had the choice whether to hold the animal itself as capital, or only its labour, we should have laid the blame of his double loss upon himself.”

Unlike Marcet, at the end of each volume Martineau provided a helpful "summary of principles in this Volume" to push home the didactic purpose of her writing. The "Summary" at the end of the volume on "Demerara" provides a good example of this, where Martineau reveals that she does not believe in the natural right to property like the French political economists of her day did, but does conclude that slavery is wrong because the slaves did not consent to their enslavement: [159]

The truths illustrated may be arranged as follows.

Property is held by conventional, not natural right.

As the agreement to hold man in property never took place between the parties concerned, i. e., is not conventional, Man has no right to hold Man in property.

Law, i. e., the sanctioned agreement of the parties concerned, secures property.

Where the parties are not agreed, therefore, law does not secure property.

Where one of the parties under the law is held as property by another party, the law injures the one or the other as often as they are opposed. Moreover, its very protection injures the protected party,— as when a rebellious slave is hanged.

Human labour is more valuable than brute labour, only because actuated by reason; for human strength is inferior to brute strength.

The origin of labour, human and brute, is the Will.

The Reason of slaves is not subjected to exercise. nor their will to more than a few weak motives. [142]

The labour of slaves is therefore less valuable than that of brutes, inasmuch as their strength is inferior; and less valuable than that of free labourers, inasmuch as their Reason and Will are feeble and alienated.

The entire economic educational project was completed at the end of volume nine with a several hundred page summation of economics as a whole in a mini-treatise of her own called "The Moral of Many Fables." In the introduction, she admits that "all" of her moral fables were "melancholy" in that they showed the harmful effects of government restrictions and interventions in the market, but, she assures the reader "to cure us of our sadness, however, let us review the philosophy of Labour and Capital" - which one would have to admit is surely no cure for melancholia but rather a way of deepening it: [160]

My many fables have all been melancholy. This is the fault which has been more frequently found with them than any other. Instead of disputing the ground of complaint, or defending myself by an appeal to fact, I have always entreated the objectors to wait and see if the moral of my fables be melancholy also. I have been sustained throughout by the conviction that it is not; and I now proceed to exhibit the grounds of my confidence.

Is it not true, however, that in the science under review, as in every other department of moral science, we must enter through tribulation into troth? The discipline of the great family of the earth is strictly analogous with that of the small household which is gathered under the roof of the wise parent. It is only by the experience consequent on the conscious or unconscious transgression of laws that the children of either family can fully ascertain the will of the Ruler, and reach that conformity from which alone can issue permanent harmony and progressive [2] happiness. What method, then, is so direct for one who would ascertain those laws, as to make a record of the transgressions and their consequences, in order to educe wise principles from foolish practices, permanent good from transient evil? Whatever be the degree of failure, through the unskilfulness of the explorer, the method can scarcely be a faulty one, since it is that by which all attainments of moral truth are made. Could I, by any number of tales of people who have not suffered under an unwise administration of social affairs, have shown that that administration was unwise? In as far as an administration is wise, there is no occasion to write about it; for its true principles are already brought to a practical recognition, and nothing remains to be done. Would that we had more cheering tales of happy societies than we have! They will abound in time; but they will be told for other purposes than that of proving the principles of a new science.

Thus much in defence,—not of any tales, but of the venerable experimental method which is answerable for their being sad.

To cure us of our sadness, however, let us review the philosophy of Labour and Capital;— the one the agent, the other the instrument of PRODUCTION.

Surprisingly to the modern reader, these economic tales were so popular that they went through several editions and were translated immediately into French and certainly had an impact on Gustave de Molinari who used them as a model for his "discussions" in Les Soirées in 1849 and his own "familiar conversations" in 1855, and possibly also Bastiat who was a close friend of Molinari and the other political economists in the Guillaumin circle.

What made Bastiat's writing different from Marcet's and Martineau's was his savage wit and moral outrage, his interweaving of classical literature with his insights into economic theory, and his prowess at inventing stories of his own, especially the stories about Robinson Crusoe.

Conclusion

The style which Bastiat had perfected in the mid- and late 1840s, the short and often sarcastic and humorous rebuttal of false but commonly held economic ideas, and the use of constructed conversations between stock characters who held opposing views was continued after his death by other members of the free market school in Paris. [161] His close friend and colleague, Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912), with whom he started the magazine Jacques Bonhomme in the June days of the Revolution, adopted Bastiat's rhetorical style in two books which appeared in the late 1840s and early 1850s, so therefore still very much under the influence of Bastiat. In 1849 Molinari published a path breaking book which pushed the boundaries of the free market position to its very limits, the Soirées de la rue Saint-Lazare. Entretiens sur les lois économiques et défense de la propriété (1849). [162] The book was made up of eleven "Soirées" or evening parties where an "Economist" sparred with a "Conservative" and a "Socialist" over the issues which had been raised during the 1848 Revolution concerning the limits of state power to intervene in and regulate the economy, and the rights of individuals to own property and to dispose of it freely on the market. Molinari had elevated the "familiar conversation" to the more sophisticated table of the "soirée" which was far above the working man's dinner table used by Marcet and Martineau, and even above Bastiat's conversations in the streets of Paris and Bordeaux with "artisans" and "Jacques Bonhomme," the quintessential ordinary Frenchman. Molinari followed Les Soirées with another book in 1855 called Conversations familières sur le commerce des grains (1855) which comprised a series of conversations on free trade in wheat between a "Rioter", a "Prohibitionist", and an "Economist". [163] By this time the Revolution of 1848 had well and truly entered the picture and a street "rioter" now had to be part of the "familiar conversation", if that were possible.

Bastiat's Rhetoric of Liberty↩

Humour and the Promotion of Liberty: Puns and Word Play

  The Sophisms reveal a man who has a very good sense of humour and an understanding of how humour can be used for political purposes as well as to make political economy less "dry and dull" for average readers. Sprinkled throughout the Sophisms are Bastiat's own jokes, plays on words, and puns. For example, in "The Tax Collector" [164] Bastiat creates a dialogue between Jacques Bonhomme (a wine producer like Bastiat himself) and a Tax Collector, a M. "Lasouche". Lasouche is a made up name which Bastiat creates to poke fun at his adversaries. The FEE translator translated "M. Lasouche" as "Mr. Clodpate." Since "la souche" means a tree stump, log, or plant stock, we thought "Mr. Blockhead" might be a more appropriate word to use.   This next play on words requires some knowledge of Latin. In "Reciprocity" [165] Bastiat creates two fictitious towns which he calls "Stulta" and "Puera" as part of a fable about how towns create artificial obstacles to trade in order to boost their own local economies. The names of the towns "Stulta" and "Puera" are plays on the Latin words "stultus" for foolish, and "puer/puera" for young boy or girl; thus one might translate them as "Stupidville" and "Childishtown". There are also puns on French words such as "haut" (high or tall) and "gauche" (left). In "High Prices, Low Prices" [166] Bastiat discusses how protectionists usually prefer "high prices" while free traders prefer "low prices". In the course of his argument he makes a play on the word "haut" (high) in the passage "Would it not be amusing to see low prices becoming the watchword in Rue Hauteville ("Highville") and high ones lauded in the Rue Choiseul" The joke is that on the Rue Hauteville was the headquarters of the Odier Committee and the Association for the Defense of National Work (a protectionist organization) and on the Rue Choiseul was the headquarters of the Association for Free Trade which Bastiat led at one time. In "The Right Hand and the Left Hand" [167] Bastiat continues his strategy of making reductio ad absurdum arguments in order to ridicule his opponents. In this case he is showing that by rejecting free trade, the protectionists are just making extra work for themselves by making it harder to buy goods more cheaply elsewhere. In this Sophism Bastiat suggests that in order to make more work for themselves they should think about passing a law to make everybody tie their right hand behind their back and only use their left (gauche) hand to work with. He wittily refers to this practice as a form of "gaucherie" or clumsiness.   Sometimes Bastiat is able to laugh at himself as well at as his adversaries. In "The Fear of a Word" [168] a discussion takes place between an Economist and an Artisan and the conversation comes to the problem of the meaning of words and how some people fear the words more than they do their meaning. It probably happened on occasion to Bastiat when he was campaigning for the Free Trade Association that discussion would get bogged down in the different meanings of key phrases such as "free trade" (libre-échange) and "freedom to trade" (échange libre). The phrase "free trade" was frightening to the Artisan because of its politically charged meaning in the free trade movement both in France and in Britain. The Artisan however is more comfortable with the less threatening phrase "freedom to trade". The Economist points out to him that although the two phrases have a different word order in French they in fact mean exactly the same thing. In the Sophism the Artisan says literally, "Ainsi, libre-échange et échange libre, c’est blanc bonnet et bonnet blanc ?" (So free trade and trade free is the same as white bonnet and bonnet white) and both sides laugh at the silliness of it all. [169]   Another example of his self-deprecating humour is in "A Little Manual for Consumers, in other words for everyone" [170] where Bastiat makes fun of the problems he and others faced in coming to terms with technical economic expressions, in this case "to consume," "the consumer", and "consumption." Here Bastiat likens these difficult and ugly words to so many barflies that one cannot get rid of, perhaps expressing some frustration at the difficult task he had set himself in trying to make them understandable to the general public. No doubt he had to "consume" a few glasses in the course of his agitation for free trade and, coming from a wine producing region like Les Landes, Bastiat probably knew what he was talking about here: [171]  

Consommer, — Consommateur, — Consommation, — vilains mots qui représentent les hommes comme des coureurs d’estaminet, sans cesse en face de la demi-tasse et du petit verre.	Consume – Consumer – Consumption; these are ugly words that represent people as so many barflies, constantly with a coffee cup or a wine glass in front of them.
Mais l’économie politique est bien forcée de s’en servir. (Je parle des trois mots et non du petit verre.) Elle n’ose en faire d’autres, ayant trouvé ceux-là tout faits.	But political economy is obliged to use them. (I am referring to the three words, not the wine glass.) It dare not use any others since they are already in existence.

It is interesting to speculate whether the strategy of using irony, sarcasm, parody, mockery, puns, and other forms of humour in his writing was an explicit and deliberate one, or one that just naturally arose out of his jovial personality. A clue comes from an article he wrote in early 1846 soon after the appearance of the First Series of Economic Harmonies. In an article in the Journal des Économistes of January 1846, "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy), he opens with the following testy remarks: [172]

Ou trouve mon petit livre des Sophismes trop théorique, scientifique, métaphysique. Soit. Essayons du genre trivial, banal, et, s’il le faut, brutal. Convaincu que le public est dupe à l’endroit de la protection, je le lui ai voulu prouver. Il préfère qu’on le lui crie : donc vociférons.	People find my small volume of Sophisms too theoretical, scientific and metaphysical. So be it. Let us try a superficial, banal and, if necessary, brutal style. Since I am convinced that the general public have been duped as far as protection is concerned, I wanted to prove it to them. They prefer to be shouted at. So let us shout:
Midas, le roi Midas, a des oreilles d’âne !	"Midas, King Midas has the ears of a donkey!"
Une explosion de franchise fait mieux souvent que les circonlocutions les plus polies. Vous vous rappelez Oronte, et le mal qu’a le misanthrope, tout misanthrope qu’il est, à le convaincre de sa folie.	An explosion of plain speaking often has more effect than the politest circumlocutions. Do you remember Oronte and the difficulty that the Misanthropist, as misanthropic as he is, has in convincing him of his folly?

The first reference he makes here is to the story of King Midas who was ruler of the Greek kingdom of Phrygia (in modern-day Turkey) sometime in the eighteenth century B.C. According to legend, after he had been granted the power to turn anything he touched into gold, he became disillusioned and retired to the country, where he fell in love with Pan’s flute music. In a competition between Pan and Apollo to see who played the best music, King Midas chose Pan’s flute over Apollo’s lyre. Apollo was so incensed at the tin ears of Midas that he turned them into the ears of a donkey. The line "King Midas has the ears of a donkey!" has a similar meaning I think to the cry "The Emperor has no clothes!".

The second reference is to Molière's play The Misanthrope (1666) where Alceste, the "misanthrope", tries to tell Oronte, a foolish nobleman, that his poetry is poorly written and worthless. After many attempts at avoiding the answer with circumlocutions, Alceste finally says, “Franchement, il est bon à mettre au cabinet” (Frankly, it is only good to be thrown into the toilet) . An example of "plain speaking" if ever there was. [173]   It is seems that Bastiat had been stung by some critical reviews of Economic Sophisms Series I for being "too theoretical, scientific and metaphysical" and thus failing to achieve his major aim, which was to appeal to a broader popular audience. As a result he may well have decided deliberately to use more sarcasm, humour, and parody in future Sophisms. An analysis of the format of ES1 suggests that this might have been the case: of the 24 essays two were in formal prose (the Introduction and Conclusion; 8%), 15 in informal prose (62%), three were dialogues (12.5%), two were economic fables (8%), and there was one petition (4%) and one appeal to workers (4%).

In ES2 there were 17 items of which two were in formal prose (the opening two chapters on Plunder and Moral Philosophy; 12%), five were dialogues (29%), three were in informal prose (17.6%), three were economic fables (17.6%), two were petitions (12%), and there was one appeal to workers (6%). Thus were can say that ES2 had more sophisms in dialogue form and a lot fewer in informal prose. But in stark contrast was "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) in ES2 which was a dialogue which was quite forthright even "brutal" in tone and language. The "Theft by Subsidy" article was unusually angry and bitter for Bastiat as it contained some strong words about the need to call "a spade a spade" regardless of the sensitivities of common opinion; in this case he wanted to call most government policies a form of theft and the protectionist system in France a form of "theft": [174]

Franchement, bon public, on te vole. C’est cru, mais c’est clair.	Frankly, my good people, you are being robbed. That is plain speaking but at least it is clear.
Les mots vol, voler, voleur, paraîtront de [83] mauvais goût à beaucoup de gens. Je leur demanderai comme Harpagon à Élise : Est-ce le mol ou la chose qui vous fait peur ?	The words, theft, to steal and thief seem to many people to be in bad taste. Echoing the words of Harpagon to Elise, I ask them: Is it the word or the thing that makes you afraid?

To his credit, Bastiat, as a landowner who produces crops for sale, applies the same harsh language to himself when he reflects on his own situation which he dutifully footnotes: [175]

D’ailleurs, bon gré, mal gré, nous sommes tous voleurs et volés en cette affaire. L’auteur de ce volume a beau crier au voleur quand il achète, on peut crier après lui quand il vend [fn3]; s’il diffère de beaucoup de ses compatriotes, c’est seulement en ceci : il sait qu’il perd au jeu plus qu’il n’y gagne, et eux ne le savent pas ; s’ils le savaient, le jeu cesserait bientôt.

Besides, whether we like it or not, we are all thieves and the victims of thieves in this business. The author of this book could well cry out "Stop Thief!" when he buys something; one could say the same thing about him when he sells something. [fn3] What makes him different from a lot of his compatriots is only this: he knows that he loses more in this game (of cards) than he wins, and the others do not. If they realised this the game would soon cease.

FN3: Possédant un champ qui le fait vivre, il est de la classe des protégés. Cette circonstance devrait désarmer la critique. Elle montre que, s’il se sert d’expressions dures, c’est contre la chose et non contre les intentions

FN3: Owning a field on which provides him with a living, he beliongs to the "protected class" (the class of those who benefit from the policy of tariffs and protection). This situation should disarm his critics. It shows that if he uses harsh language it is used against the thing itself and not against people's intentions.

It was in the course of this angry tirade against the government and his critical reviewers that Bast wrote one of his sharpest, wittiest, and bitterest pieces of humour - his parody of Molière's parody of quack doctors in Le malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid, or the Hypocondriac) which is quoted at length above in which Bastiat writes an "Swearing In" Oath for government employees.   This experience may have convinced Bastiat to alter the balance of his Sophisms in the second series to be published two years later, just before the outbreak of the Revolution. In that collection which had five fewer essays than the first (17 rather than 22) the number of essays in standard prose dropped from 15 (68%) to four (24%) and the number of more humorous dialogs, tales, and fictional documents was increased from six (27%) to nine (41%). Bastiat seemed more determined than ever to reach the people and to avoid making economic arguments "dry and dull".   It is possible that after the appearance of the more humorous Second Series of Economic Sophisms Bastiat thought he might have gone too far in the opposite direction. In the article "Disastrous Illusions" which appeared in the Journal des économistes shortly after the outbreak of Revolution in February 1848 he expressed his very serious worries about where the revolution was heading, seeing the rise of socialist and protectionist ideas among the revolutionaries as very dangerous and perhaps presaging the "rock on which our beloved Republic will founder". If this were true, then it was no time for his joking, punning, parodying: [176]

Je me tairais s’il n’était question que de mesures provisoires, nécessitées et en quelque sorte justifiées par la commotion de la grande révolution que nous venons d’accomplir ; mais ce qu’on réclame, ce ne sont pas des remèdes exceptionnels, c’est l’application d’un système. Oubliant que la bourse des citoyens alimente celle de l’État, on veut que la bourse de l’État alimente celle des citoyens.	I would keep quiet if it were a matter only of temporary measures that were required and to some extent justified by the upheaval of the great revolution that we have just accomplished, but what people are demanding are not exceptional remedies but the application of a system. Forgetting that citizens' purses fill that of the State, they want the State's purse to fill those of the citizens.
Ah ! ce n’est pas avec l’ironie et le sarcasme que je m’efforcerai de dissiper cette funeste illusion ; car, à mes yeux [ii-467] du moins, elle jette un voile sombre sur l’avenir ; et c’est là, je le crains bien, l’écueil de notre chère République.	I do have to make it clear that it is not by using irony and sarcasm that I will be striving to dispel this disastrous illusion. In my view at least, it casts a somber shadow over the future, which I very much fear will be the rock on which our beloved Republic will founder.

  Bastiat spent much time between February 1848 and Christmas 1850 working hard to prevent the rapid increase in the power of the state both in a socialist and in a protectionist direction in the Constituent and then the National Assembly, in which he served as vice president of the Finance Committee. He also struggled to complete his theoretical work Economic Harmonies as his health continued to fail making it very difficult to work for long periods of time during the last two years of his life. When his last work was published in July 1850, What is Seen and What is Not Seen , the balance of serious essays and more humorous ones had shifted back closer to what they had been in the First Series - of the 12 essays only two (or 17%) were humorous dialogs and tales, while 10 (or a very large 83%) were in more formal prose. Paillottet says in a fascinating footnote that the pamphlet What is Seen and What is Not Seen was a year overdue in appearing in print as Bastiat had lost the manuscript in a house move and was forced to rewrite it. Since he was struggling in his own mind over the right balance to have between serious and humorous sophisms he decided that the second version was far too serious and he threw it into the fire in anger and frustration. He was happier with the third version of his manuscript which is the version that appeared in print in July 1850.

An analysis of the balance of serious and humorous essays in what Paillottet called the "New Series of Sophisms" which he included in the Oeuvres Complètes but which Bastiat never put into print produces the following results: of the 28 essays we have included in our version of ES3 10 (36%) were informal prose, three (11%) were formal prose, five (18%) were petitions, four (14%) were dialogues, four (14%) were economic fables, and two (7%) were appeals to workers. Thus, 47% were in prose of some kind, and 53% could be described as more popular and humorous. Thus the balance was roughly even which is perhaps not surprising as the pieces were written between 1846 and 1848 and thus cover the period when Bastiat was fluctuating in his preference for humour or harsh language.   Thus one could conclude from this that Bastiat could not settle on the right balance of serious and humorous sophisms in his collections and fluctuated from one extreme to the other as circumstances changed in the tumultuous years between 1846 and 1850. In spite of this indecision one can still say that Bastiat succeeded in his aim of making the study of political economy less "dry and dull" in the Sophisms than in most other forms in which economic ideas had appeared in print up to that time. Quite sophisticated and sometimes complex economic ideas were made lively, amusing, contemporary, and interesting, perhaps even persuasive, which was of course his real purpose in resorting to these rhetorical devices in the first place.

Ridiculing the King and Singing the Praises of Smugglers

During the Restoration and July Monarchy with their very limited franchise, bans on political parties, and strict censorship, singing clubs (goguettes) became popular as a means of circumventing these restrictions. The members of these clubs were ordinary people, often from the lower or middle class, who would gather to talk politics when other forms of political association were forbidden or strictly limited. Bastiat quotes a number of "goguettiers" (people who wrote songs to be sung in the goguettes) (Paul Émile Debraux, P.J. Béranger) and this suggests that he knew their works quite well, perhaps even knowing some of their works by heart which raises the intriguing possibility that he had attended meetings of the clubs in person.

Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780–1857) was a liberal poet and songwriter who rose to prominence during the Restoration period with his funny and clever criticisms of the monarchy and the church. His antics got him into trouble with the censors, who imprisoned him for brief periods in the 1820s. Béranger had made a name for himself by mocking Emperor Napoleon and then all the monarchs of the Restoration period, as well as any other government official who set himself up above the people. [177] In his correspondence Bastiat mentions Béranger several times which shows how close his personal relationship was to the poet and song writer as well as how closely connected some artists like Béranger were to the political economists like Bastiat.

One of his most notorious poems (actually a drinking song for the "goguettes") is “Le Roi d’Yvetot” (The King of Yvetot) (May 1813) which Bastiat quoted in ES2 13 “La protection ou les trois Échevins” (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) (c. 1847). A regional Seigneur Yvetot behaved as if he were a king and tormented the local populace by taxing them and molesting their daughters. One verse in particular would have caught Bastiat’s eye as it deals with taxation: [178]

Il n'avait de goût onéreux Qu'une soif un peu vive ; Mais en rendant son peuple heureux, Il faut bien qu'un roi vive. Lui-même, à table et sans suppôt, Sur chaque muid levait un pot D'impôt. Oh ! oh !oh !oh ! ah ! ah ! ah ! ah ! Quel bon petit roi c'était là ! La, la.	III. No costly regal tastes had he, Save thirstiness alone; But ere a people blest can be, We must support the throne! So from each cask new tapp’d he got, (His own tax-gath’rer), on the spot, A pot! Ha! ha! ha! ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! A kingdom match with Yvetot! Ho! Ho!”
Aux filles de bonnes maisons Comme il avait su plaire, Ses sujets avaient cent raisons De le nommer leur père: D'ailleurs il ne levait de ban Que pour tirer, quatre fois l'an, Au blanc. Oh! oh ! oh! oh ! ah! ah! ah! ah! Quel bon petit roi c'était là! La, la.	IV. So well he pleased the damsels all, The folks could understand A hundred reasons him to call The Father of his Land. His troops levied in his park But twice a year - to hit a mark, And lark! Ha! ha! ha! ha! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho! A kingdom match with Yvetot! Ho! Ho!

After the appearance of his second volume of songs in 1821, Béranger was tried, convicted, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment in Sainte-Pélagie jail, where he wrote the poem “La Liberté” (Liberty) in January 1822 in which he mocked his jailors and their attempts to crush his liberal spirit. The first two verses go: [179]

D'un petit bout de chaîne Depuis que j'ai tâté, Mon cœur en belle haine A pris la liberté. Fi de la liberté! A bas la liberté!	I. Since I’ve the odour smelt of ironmongery, Most spitefully I’ve felt Tow’rds Madam Liberty. Shame, shame on Liberty! Down, down with Liberty!
Marchangy, ce vrai sage, M'a fait par charité Sentir de l'esclavage La légitimité. Fi de la liberté ! A bas la liberté!	II. Marchangy’s (his jailer) taken pains (A kindly sage is he) To beat into my brains The good of slavery. Shame, shame on Liberty! Down, down with Liberty!

Bastiat lived and worked in the Basque region of France close to the Spanish border. He had been born in the town of Bayonne where an army garrison was located. He spoke some Basque (he even wrote an essay on the Basque language [180] ) and possibly traded with Basques or employed them around his farm. So he would have been very aware of the rampant smuggling which was conducted by Basques over the Franco-Spanish border, a border which meant nothing to the Basque people, other than a hindrance and a nuisance. He also knew Béranger well and persuaded him to join the French Trade Association when it was launched in 1847. Béranger wrote a rousing drinking song in praise of the heroic Basque smugglers, which a staunch free trader like Bastiat would have greatly appealed to him. Smuggling after all is but a form of "free trade." One could imagine the young Bastiat singing this rather boisterous song with the officers at the Bayonne (Bastiat's birthplace) Garrison in August 1830. (Note the older English translation is a loose one): [181]

Malheur! malheur aux commis! A nous, bonheur et richesse! Malheur! malheur aux commis! A nous, bonheur et richesse! Le peuple à nous s'intéresse: Il est de nos amis. Oui, le peuple est partout de nos amis; Oui, le peuple est partout, partout de nos amis.	[refrain] Hang the excisemen! let us get hold Of pleasures in plenty, and heaps of gold! We have the people on our side; They're all our friends at heart: Yes, lads, the people far and wide, The people take our part.
Quoi! l'on veut qu'uni de langage, Aux mêmes lois longtemps soumis, Tout peuple qu'un traité partage Forme deux peuples d'ennemis. Non; grâce à notre peine, I ls ne vont pas en vain Filer la même laine, Sourire au même vin.	What! 'tis their will, that where one tongue is spoken Where the same laws long time have been obeyed, Because some treaty may such bonds have broken, Two hostile nations should, forsooth, be made!
Aux échanges l'homme s'exerce; Mais l'impôt barre les chemins. Passons: c'est nous qui du commerce Tiendrons la balance en nos mains. Partout la Providence Veut, en nous protégeant, Niveler l'abondance, Éparpiller l'argent.	Man might his barter have convenient made, But taxes blocking up the roads abound; Then forward, comrades, forward !—such is trade, That in our hands its balance must be found.
A la frontière où l'oiseau vole, Rien ne lui dit: Suis d'autres lois. L'été vient tarir la rigole Qui sert de limite à deux rois. Prix du sang qu'ils répandent, Là, leurs droits sont perçus. Ces bornes qu'ils défendent, Nous sautons par-dessus.	Taxes—the which on bloodshed they will spend— Are levied there: We—leaping o'er the barriers they defend— Little we care.

Another bout of imprisonment (this time nine months in La Force) followed in 1828, when his fourth volume was published. Many of the figures who came to power after the July Revolution of 1830 were friends or acquaintances of Béranger’s, and it was assumed he would be granted a sinecure in recognition of his critiques of the old monarchy. However, he refused all government appointments in a stinging poem that he wrote in late 1830 called “Le Refus” (The Refusal). In April 1848, at the age of sixty-eight, Béranger was overwhelmingly elected to the Constituent Assembly, in which he sat for a brief period before resigning. Béranger mixed in liberal circles in the 1840s in Paris, when he joined Bastiat’s Free Trade Society and the Political Economy Society. He was invited to attend the welcome dinner held by the latter to honor Bastiat’s arrival in Paris in May 1845 but was unable to attend. Bastiat knew him and was known to have sung his drinking songs on occasion.

In a letter to his friend Felix Coudroy (Bayonne 5 August 1830) Bastiat relates his activities in the 1830 Revolution (27-29 July) when the garrison in Bayonne was split over whether or not to side with the revolution or the sitting monarch Charles X. As a young man of 29 Bastiat visited the garrison in order to speak to some of the officers in order to swing them over the revolutionary cause. In a midnight addition to his letter Bastiat relates how some good wine and the songs of Béranger helped him persuade the officers that night: [182]

Le 5, à minuit	The 5th at midnight
Je m’attendais à du sang, c’est du vin seul qui a été répandu. La citadelle a arboré le drapeau tricolore. La bonne contenance du Midi et de Toulouse a décidé celle de Bayonne, les régiments y ont arboré le drapeau. Le traître J… a vu alors le plan manqué, d’autant mieux que partout les troupes faisaient défection ; il s’est alors décidé à remettre les ordres qu’il avait depuis trois jours dans sa poche. Ainsi tout est terminé. Je me propose de repartir sur-le-champ. Je t’embrasserai demain.	I was expecting blood but it was only wine that was spilt. The citadel has displayed the tricolor flag. The military containment of the Midi and Toulouse has decided that of Bayonne; the regiments down there have displayed the flag. The traitor J……… thus saw that the plan had failed, especially as the troops were defecting on all sides; he then decided to hand over the orders he had had in his pocket for three days. Thus, it is all over. I plan to leave immediately. I will embrace you tomorrow.
Ce soir nous avons fraternisé avec les officiers de la garnison. Punch, vins, liqueurs et surtout Béranger, ont fait les frais de la fête. La cordialité la plus parfaite régnait dans cette réunion vraiment patriotique. Les officiers étaient plus chauds que nous, comme des chevaux échappés sont plus gais que des chevaux libres.	This evening we fraternized with the garrison officers. Punch, wine, liqueurs and above all, Béranger contributed largely to the festivities. Perfect cordiality reigned in this truly patriotic gathering. The officers were warmer than we were, in the same way as horses which have escaped are more joyful than those that are free.

In the Sophism ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) (c. 1847) Bastiat again quotes Béranger. This Sophism has the distinction of being the only one he wrote as a small play with numerous actors in four "scenes." [183] The play opens with three municipal magistrates scheming about how they can use protection to increase the local butter industry by keeping out "foreign" butter from Normandy. In scene three, some twenty years later, a father and his son are reflecting on their need to leave Paris because the policies of the magistrates had ruined the city's economy and forced many industries to close down. In scene four Jacques Bonhomme has become an agitator urging the overthrow of the protectionist policies of the city and the restoration of freedom. His exchanges with "The People" as he debates the protectionist "Pierre" are very funny as the fickle People change their demands depending on whoever had spoken last, perhaps reflecting Bastiat's own frustrations and difficulties in appealing to ordinary people on the issue of free trade.   Béranger was a particular favourite of Bastiat who referred to his satirical poems and songs several times. The song "Mandement des vicaires généraux de Paris" (Pastoral from the vicars general of Paris) (1817) is a satirical song which mocks the ruling elites of the early Restoration who blamed every problem of the day on the influence of the ideas of Rousseau and Voltaire. A typical verse is the following: "In order to teach children that they were born to be slaves, shackles were fitted when they first learned to move. If mankind is free in the cradle it is the fault of Rousseau; if reason enlightens them then it is the fault of Voltaire." [184] This suggests that conservative critics of any reform in a liberal direction are out of touch with the needs of ordinary people who no doubt never read Rousseau or Voltaire, but who nevertheless knew they wanted to be free.   Bastiat quotes this song in the context of a discussion about the losses which are incurred when any protectionist tariff is imposed on a transaction. He had been particularly impressed by the arguments of the English free trader and Anti-Corn Law League supporter, Colonel Perronnet Thompson, who had developed an algebraic formula for describing these losses which he called "the double incidence of loss". Thompson's formula had proven to be so influential in the ensuing debate about the merits of free trade in England that his name had been bandied about so often by the opposition in their efforts to refute him that the underlying arguments on which his formula had depended had been forgotten. Thus Perronnet Thompson's name had been misused much like Rousseau's and Voltaire's in Béranger's song as a scapegoat for every ill the protectionists identified in the free trade cause. Because of this Bastiat wanted to NOT mention his name and return to the underlying reasons and arguments that lay behind Thompson's formula. [185]

Béranger was elected along with Bastiat to the Constituent Assembly on April 23, 1848 where they formed part of a small contingent of classical liberal and free trade deputies who faced the socialists and protectionists in the Chamber. I would like to think that after a hard day's work in the Chamber Bastiat, Béranger, and some other like-minded friends might have gone to a bar to sing some of Béranger's political and satirical songs.  

Bastiat's use of Literature to illustrate Economic Arguments↩

Introduction

  Our study of Bastiat’s Economic Sophisms and some of his other works reveals a very well-read man who was not only familiar with the classics of political economy in four languages - French, Spanish, Italian, and English - and government economic reports, budget papers, and inquiries, but also with classic French literature, contemporary songs and poems, popular and satirical literature, plays, as well as opera. The sheer number and range of material which Bastiat was able to draw upon in his writings is very impressive.

Some of the authors and types of literary works Bastiat used in his economic writing include the following:

• fables and fairy tales
  • the fabulist Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695)
  • the author of fairy tales Charles Perrault (1628-1703)
  • the fabulist Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794)
• plays
  • Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (or Molière) (1622-1673)
  • the anti-aristocratic playwright Pierre-Augustin, baron de Beaumarchais (1732-99)
  • the radical republican playwright Étienne Vincent Arago (1802–1892)
  • others such as Victor Hugo, Regnard, Désaugiers, Collin d’Harleville;
• novels
  • Daniel Defoe, The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Marriner (1719)
  • Miguel de Cervantes, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (1605-15)
• songs and poems
  • the poet and translator Évariste Désiré de Forges, comte de Parny (1753–1814)
  • the poet and political song writer Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780–1857)
  • Ebenezer Elliot (1781-1849) the “free-trade rhymer”
  • others: Depraux, Boileau-Despréaux, Viennet
• short stories and satires
  • the poet and playwright François Andrieux (1759–1833)
  • the translator and pamphleteer Paul-Louis Courier de Méré (1773-1825)
  • the novelist and satirist Louis Reybaud (1798–1879)
• odes by Horace,
• operas by Rossini
• folk stories
  • the street performers and jesters Antoine and Philippe Girard (and their characters Mondor and Tabarin)
  • the wily French peasant Jacques Bonhomme

  Sometimes Bastiat quotes from memory and gets the lines wrong or confused. This suggests that he had memorized a large repertoire of poems, songs, stories, and scenes of plays from his youth but in his considerable haste to get a large amount of material ready for publication in a very short time (most of his writing was composed between 1845-1850) he occasionally got some details incorrect. His interest in more contemporary French literature was a result of the innovative education he received at the College of Saint-Sever and then the Benedictine École de Sorze (1814-1818) where the school encouraged the study of modern subjects and languages such as English, Italian, Spanish and not the Greek and Roman classics which he came to despise as the culture of a society which engaged in conquest, slavery, and plunder. The school also allowed him to learn the cello which began a life-long love of music, especially opera.   The significance of Bastiat's interest in modern literature is that he is able to use it to illustrate his potentially "dry and dull" economic and political arguments in a form of speech and to use social situations which were much more familiar to his readers than quoting ancient Greek and Latin authors would have permitted. For example, he quotes many times from Molière's plays in order to show the follies of members of the bourgeois class who attempted to ape the manners and speech of the nobility who are universally hostile to having careers in the free market and to bourgeois values in general. A sampling of Bastiat's use of modern French literature is quite instructive.

Examples from Popular (Low) French Literature

Political Weasels: La Fontaine’s fable, “The Weasel that got caught in the Storeroom”

Bastiat liked the fables of La Fontaine (1621-1695) because they contained poignant moral lessons which could be turned into “economic tales” accessible to everybody. They were especially powerful in France where every child from a literate family had had La Fontaine's fables read to them. All Bastiat had to do is refer to them in passing and his readers would immediately know what he was referring to.

A good example is the fable “La Belette entrée dans un grenier” (The Weasel That Got Caught in the Storeroom) which Bastiat referred to in an early essay written for the Journal des économistes in July 1845, ES1 5 “Nos produits sont grevés de taxes” (Our Products are weighed down with Taxes). [186] The article was an attack on the high level of taxation, especially those taxes needed to fund France's large and bloated army and navy. In the late 1840s France had about 400,000 men in the army which cost close to Fr 400 million per annum which was about 30% of the entire budget. Bastiat thought it was imperative to cut drastically the size of the armed forces by at least 100,000 possibly 200,000 men and to pass these savings directly onto the people by cutting taxes on food and clothing.

The La Fontaine fable is quoted in the context of Bastiat's discussion of how to cut military taxation and expenditure and "the weasel" is an obvious reference to pro-military politicians, the officer corps, and the vested interests which supply the military; and the "grain" refers to the taxes paid by ordinary people to the state. The story concerns a greedy weasel who plans to sneak into a farmer’s granary to steal his harvest. When he plans the theft the weasel is skinny enough to squeeze through a gap in the wall. After gorging himself on the product of the farmer’s hard work, the weasel has put on too much weight to escape through the same hole. A wise and smaller rat points out his folly and suggests that, after five or six days of not eating, “you would have then a belly that is much less full. You were thin to get in, you’ll have to be thin to get out.” [187] The implication of the story is that once the tax-payers get wise to how much the fat weasels of the military have taken from them they will be angry and come after them with a very sharp farming implement to seek revenge. To avoid this unpleasantness, the military might have to go on a strict diet in order to lose weight, which is what Bastiat tried to do when he was Vice-President of the Chamber's Finance Committee in 1848-49. In another sophism Bastiat reveals how radical were his plans to cut military expenditure. In ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) (Jan. 1847). [188]

A more thorough study by Gustave Boissonad of the economic ideas expressed by La Fontaine in his fables was not made until twenty-five years after Bastiat first made use of them in the Sophisms. The author may well have been inspired by Bastiat's sophism. [189]

Speaking Truth to Power: Andrieux's “The Miller of Sans-Souci” (1797)

Bastiat also quoted the revolutionary poet and playwright François Andrieux (1759-1833) in one of his anti-socialist pamphlets written in July 1848 at the height of the Revolution - “Propriété et spoliation” (Property and Plunder) (July 1848). [190] Andrieux had been a member of the liberal Girondin group during the Revolution before taking up a number of academic positions under Napoléon. Bastiat was particularly interested in Andrieux’s tale "Le Meûnier de Sans-Souci" (The Miller of Sans-Souci) which was read at a public meeting of the Institute on 15 Germinal an 5 (4 April 1797). [191] The story is about an ordinary German who had the courage to speak the truth to power, namely, King Frederick the Great. One might say that Bastiat thought of himself as one of the few Frenchman of his day who had the courage to speak some unpalatable truths to those in power, in his case the socialists and interventionists who had come to power during the revolution of 1848. Bastiat refers to this tale several times in his writings, and it is not hard to see why it became one of his favorite anecdotes.

  The liberal republican Andrieux depicts an entrepreneurial mill owner who is determined to keep his property when ordered to hand it over to the state in order to satisfy the whim of Frederick the Great in expanding the size of his palace. Not only does Frederick take the name of the mill, "Sans-Souci," as the name for his palace, but he also wants to tear down the mill and its large rotating blades in order to have a clear view of the countryside. The mill owner refuses, saying that he does not want to sell the mill to anybody, that his father is buried there, that his son was born there, and that the mill is as valuable to him as Potsdam is to the Prussian emperor.   Frederick slyly replies that if he wanted to he could seize the miller's property, as he was the "master." The resolute and fearless miller says to Frederick's face, "You? Take my mill? Yes, (you might) if we didn't have judges in Berlin." Frederick smiles at the naive thought that his subjects really believed that justice of this kind actually existed under his reign and tells his courtiers to leave the miller alone as an act of noblesse oblige. Andrieux concludes his tale with a reflection on the nature of the power of emperors, reminding his readers that the warrior Frederick had seized Silesia and put Europe to the torch: "These are the games princes play. They respect a miller but steal a province." In the original French the rhyming verse goes like this: [192]

Les rois mal aisément souffrent qu'on leur résiste. Frédéric, un moment par l'humeur emporté, « Pardieu! de ton moulin c'est bien être entêté! « Je suis bon de vouloir t'engager à le vendre! « Sais-tu que, sans payer, je pourrais bien le prendre? « Je suis le maître ». — « Vous? de prendre mon moulin? « Oui! si nous n'avions pas des juges à Berlin ».
Le monarque, à ce mot, revint de son caprice, Charmé que sous son règne on crût à la justice. Il rit, et se tournant vers quelques courtisans, « Ma foi! messieurs, je crois qu'il faut changer nos plans. « Voisin, garde ton bien; j'aime fort ta réplique ».
Qu'aurait-on fait de mieux dans une République?
Le plus sûr est pourtant de ne pas s'y fier. Ce même Frédéric, juste envers un meûnier, Se permit mainte fois telle autre fantaisie, Témoin ce certain jour qu'il prit la Silésie, Qu'à peine sur le trône, avide de lauriers, Épris du vain renom qui séduit les guerriers, Il mit l'Europe en feu; ce sont là jeux de prince; On respecte un moulin; on vole une province.

  Bastiat quotes Andrieux's tale about the Miller and Frederick the Great in the "Third Letter" published as a series of Five Letters in the Journal des Débats in July 1848 and addressed to the socialist Victor Considerant on the nature of private property. [193] In this Letter Bastiat reflects on how individuals in a state of nature have the right to claim land as their own property in a very Lockeian manner. He uses a "thought experiment" much like his stories about Robinson Crusoe but does not use the "Crusoe" figure by name, instead talking about "une île immense habitée par quelques sauvages" (a huge island inhabited by some savages) who peacefully go about creating private property in land, trading their produce, and renting pieces of it to each other. When voluntary trades between individuals cannot be made because of disagreements over price each party has the right to refuse to enter into the exchange and can walk away without penalty. Bastiat thought this was a much more satisfactory solution to the problem of property ownership and the settlement of disputes than the Miller's naive faith in the honesty and dependability of judges in Frederick the Great's Prussia.

On Fooling one's Rulers in Order to Survive: Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Peau d’âne" (Donkeyskin) (1694)

The behaviour of kings to take what they like when they like from their subjects is another theme which attracted Bastiat for obvious reasons. In Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Peau d’âne" (Donkeyskin) (1694) the morale of the story is that sometimes ordinary people have to go to considerable lengths to prevent a king from exercising his arbitrary power. Perrault worked as an administrator serving under Jean-Baptiste Colbert during the reign of Louis XIV. After Colbert’s death in 1683 he lost his position and turned to writing children’s stories. The fairy tale “Donkeyskin” is about a princess who was desired by her own father, the king, to be his next wife after his first wife, the princess’ mother, died. The princess’ fairy godmother told her to wear the skin of a donkey as a disguise in order to deceive her father and thus avoid his unwelcome attention. [194]

Bastiat no doubt enjoyed the story because it showed how those who were without power could deceive and outwit those who wielded absolute and irresponsible power. He mentions the fairy story in ES3 18 “Le maire d'Énios” (The Mayor of Énios) (February 1848) who was a dictatorial mayor of a small town on the banks of a river. [195] Bastiat describes the mayor as “a pasha” and an arch Napoleonist who used conscript labour supplied by the local inhabitants to carry out public works and who eventually became corrupted by his extreme political powers. After reading protectionist ideas in Le Moniteur [196] the mayor decided to impose high tariffs on the only bridge across the river in order to “increase the wealth of the Commune” even if it meant disrupting trade in the greater Département and impoverishing the town’s inhabitants. The fairy godmother in Bastiat’s tale was the local Prefect who believed in free trade within the country but not internationally. He therefore refused to allow a tyrannical local mayor to have his way, thus allowing the local people to return to the normal trading relationships they had enjoyed with the region before the mayor abused his powers. Bastiat’s point of course is that the local mayor was only using the same logic as the national protectionists like the Prefect. If restricting trade locally was harmful, then so too was restricting trade internationally - and for exactly the same economic reasons.

Florian's Fable of the "Blind Man and the Cripple"

Bastiat did not use classic works of French literature in his treatise except for a very brief mention of Molière's Le malade imaginaire (The Hypocondriac) (1673) and a quote from a fable by Jean-Pierre Florian (1755-1794) "L'Aveugle et le Paralytique" (The Blind and and the Cripple) (1792). Florian was the great-nephew of Voltaire. He became an artillery officer but was able to leave the service with full rank and devote himself full-time to writing comedies, satirical poems, a novel, and translated works by Cervantes. He was elected to the French Academy in 1788. During the Terror he was imprisoned and died soon after his release. He is best known for a collection of fables which are regarded as being second only to La Fontaine’s in importance. This is the only time Bastiat quoted him.

What caught Bastiat's attention was a fable about how cooperation between “The Blind Man and the Cripple” helps them solve their problems. In this case by means of the division of labour. The one with sight guides the one without. The one with legs carries the one who cannot walk. They each exchange the "service" in which they "specialize" for the mutual benefit of each party. Of course this fable is mentioned in the Chapter on "Exchange". The passage goes: [197]

“Aidons-nous mutuellement, La charge des malheurs en sera plus légère; … à nous deux Nous possédons le bien à chacun nécessaire; J’ai des jambes, et vous des yeux: Moi, je vais vous porter; vous, vous serez mon guide; … Ainsi, sans que jamais notre amitié décide Qui de nous deux remplit le plus utile emploi, Je marcherai pour vous, vous y verrez pour moi.

Let us mutually help each other, The burden of our unhappiness will be lighter for us both. We possess a good which is necessay for each one of us; I have legs and you have eyes: As for me, I am gdoing to carry you. You will be my guide … So, without our friendship ever having to decide which of us carries out the most useful task, I will walk for you, and you will see for me.

Examples from Classical (High) French Literature

Molière and "calling a spade a spade" or "appeler un chat un chat" (a cat a cat)

Bastiat's favourite author to quote was the playwright Molière. The plays he frequently quoted from were Tartuffe, or the Imposter (1664), The Misanthrope (1666), L’Avare (The Miser) (1668), Le Bourgeois gentihomme (The Would-Be Gentleman) (1670), and Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid, or the Hypocondriac) (1673). Two references are particularly interesting. Both involve Bastiat's concern that, before radical reforms could be made in French government policies, the problems facing France had to be accurately identified, and to do this they had to be accurately named. Bastiat came to believe that economists had danced about verbally and had not accurately described what protection was really about, namely the "theft" of one person's property by the state for the benefit of another person. Economists had to call "a spade a spade" (or in French "appeler un chat un chat" (to call a cat a cat)) and should thus refer to subsidies to industry and tariff protection as so much theft and plunder of the people. This problem with accurate language came to a head with the Revolution of February and the rise of socialist groups who wished to implement a socialist program of government (tax-payer) funded jobs and unemployment relief known as the National Workshops.

Bastiat began this program to be more explicit in the language one used to describe government policies in early 1846 with an essay called ES2 9 “Le vol à la prime” (Theft by Subsidy) in the Journal des Économistes (Jan. 1846) [198] and then in a series of essays on his theory of "spoliation" (plunder) in late 1847. [199] He liked to think of himself as being in the same position as the misanthropic Alceste, in Molière's play The Misanthrope (1666) Act I Scene II, who eschewed all forms of social "politeness" but still had to explain to Oronte, a foolish nobleman, how bad his poetry was - so bad in fact fact that "Franchement, il est bon à mettre au cabinet" (frankly, it is only good to be thrown into the toilet). [200] Bastiat quotes this scene in the course of explaining to an audience of sympathetic political economists in the Journal des Économistes that the time for "the politest circumlocutions" is over and that advocates of free trade need to use a more "brutal style" when trying to convince their opponents. Their protectionist opponents needed to be "shouted out" in "an explosion of plain speaking" where protectionism is described in the bluntest terms possible as "theft" and "plunder."

Bastiat quoted this well-known passage from the play but changed the words to bring its message up to date in ES2 11 “L'utopiste (The Utopian) (January 1847). The context is that a "utopian" politician is suddenly given the power to implement whatever economic policies he wishes without obstruction. He rapidly lists all the cuts he would like make to taxes and government spending but realizes that such top-down reform would not work because the ideas of the people had not changed and they would therefore not accept the changes. He realised then that he would have to resign. In the dialogue Bastiat updates it to his own day by replacing Molière's reference to King Henry with one to King Louis Philippe, and the reference to Paris with “portfolio” (or office), and the word “colifichets” (trinkets or baubles) with “transactions,” and the word “Passion” with “honesty”. I will quote the original passage from Molière's play, followed by Bastiat's rewritten quotation: [201]

La rime n'est pas riche, et le stile en est vieux; Mais ne voyez-vous pas que cela vaut bien mieux Que ces colifichets dont le bon sens murmure, Et que la passion parle là toute pure?

The rhyme is not rich and the style is old, But you do not see that this is worth much more Than the baubles which those with good sense whisper about, And that in it passion speaks in a pure voice?

— Et si vous trouviez qu’ils ne s’accordent pas?	"And if you found that they (the principles of justice and utility) were not in harmony?"
— Je dirais au roi Philippe : Reprenez votre portefeuille.	"I (the Utopian Minister) would say to King Philip: Take back your portfolio.
— La rime n’est pas riche et le style en est vieux ; Mais pourtant je conviens que cela vaut bien mieux Que ces transactions dont le bon sens murmure, Et que l’honnêteté parle là toute pure.	The rhyme is not rich and the style outdated. But do you not see that that is much better Than the transactions whose common sense is just a murmur, And that honesty speaks these in its purest form?"

Another clever way Bastiat used quotations from Molière was to parody them. Here is an example from the last play Molière wrote "Le malade imaginaire" (The Imaginary Invalid, or the Hypocondriac) (1673) where Bastiat takes a scene mocking the quackery of 17th century French doctors with jokes and puns in two languages (French and Latin) and turns it into his own mockery of tax collectors in ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy). In "Le Malade imaginaire" Molière wrote a long Appendix in dog Latin where he parodies the granting of a degree of doctor of medicine to a neophyte doctor and his induction into the professional fraternity. Molière hated doctors and thought they were quacks, charlatans, and possibly even murderers of their patients. He was to drop dead from tuberculosis shortly after performing in his last play, succumbing to a disease 17th century doctors were unable to cure, so he had personal experience of what they did to patients in the name of medicine. Part of the induction ceremony involves the head doctor, Praeses, asking the would-be doctor, Bachelierus, what he would do to cure certain maladies. He keeps repeating the same mantra of "purging", "bleeding", "stabbing" and other unpleasant and unscientific remedies, much to the acclaim of the fraternity of doctors, who then welcome him as one of them.

The original Latin and the excellent translation made by Arthur Goddard in the FEE edition is as follows: [202]

Ego, cum isto boneto Venerabili et doctor, Don tibi et concedo Virtutem et puissanciam Medicandi,       Purgandi,       Seignandi,       Perçandi,       Taillandi,      Coupandi,       Et occidendi Impune per total       terram.

I give and grant you Power and authority to Practice medicine,       Purge,       Bleed, Stab,       Hack,       Slash,       and Kill With impunity Throughout the whole       world.

In his article ES2 09 “Le vol à la prime” (Theft by Subsidy) (January 1846) Bastiat takes Molière’s Latin and rewrites it in his own pseudo-Latin, this time with the purpose of mocking French tax collectors whom he hated with as much passion as Molière hated doctors. In his parody of a parody Bastiat is suggesting that government officials, tax collectors, and customs officials were thieves who did more harm to the economy than good, so Bastiat writes a mock “swearing in” oath which he thinks they should use to induct new officials into government service: [203]

Dono tibi et concedo Virtutem et puissantiam       Volandi,       Pillandi,       Derobandi,       Filoutandi,       Et escroquandi, Impunè per totam istam       Viam.

I give to you and I grant virtue and power       to steal       to plunder      to filch       to swindle       to defraud At will, along this whole       road

Although Bastiat did not quote the French classics much in his treatise Economic Harmonies he did manage to squeeze in one short reference to Molière’s play Le malade imaginaire (The Hypocondriac) (1673) on the narcotic properties of opium in order to argue that Condillac’s argument that each party to an exchange makes a profit is tautological - opium induces sleep because it is soporific. Bastiat quotes Molière's Latin that: [204]

Quia est in eo Virtus dormitiva Quae facit dormire

Because there is in it a soporific virtue that induces sleep.

This is amusing but unfortunate for Bastiat because in this case I believe Condillac is correct and Bastiat in error. Bastiat believes that only things of "equivalent value" are exchanged. Condillac on the other hand adheres to the "subjective theory of value" according to which, each person has a different hierarchy of values and values things differently compared to others. Thus an exchange takes place because Robinson values Friday's game more than Friday does, while Friday values Robinson's vegetables more than Robinson does. Hence an exchange takes place between the two and each is made better off as a result. As Condillac correctly expressed the matter: [205]

Mais il est faux que, dans les échanges, on donne valeur égale pour valeur égale. Au contraire, chacun des contractants en donne toujours une moindre pour une plus grande. On le reconnaîtrait si on se faisait des idées exactes, et on peut déjà le comprendre d’après ce que j’ai dit. …	But is it incorrect that, in exchanges, one gives something of equal vale for something else of equal value. On the contrary, each of the parties always gives something less for something of greater (value). One would recognise this if one had the correct ideas and one can understand this after what I have (just) said …
En effet, si on échangeait toujours valeur égale pour valeur égale, il n’y aurait de gain à faire pour aucun des contractants. Or tous deux en font, ou en doivent faire. Pourquoi ? C’est que, les choses n’ayant qu’une valeur relative à nos besoins, ce qui est plus pour l’un est moins pour l’autre, et réciproquement.	Indeed, if one always exchanged something of equal value for something else of equal value, there would be no gain (profit) to be had by any of the parties. Now both parties gain/profit from it, or ought to. Why? It is because, since things have a value only relative to our (particular) needs, what is of more value for one person is of less value to another person, and vice versa.

These examples of Bastiat's use of well-known classic French literature show not only Bastiat's deep knowledge and love of literature, and his skill in using certain passages and scenes in order to illustrate his economic arguments (or "literature in economics"), but also his emerging skill and creativity in using literary forms (such as poems and parodies) to write or do his economic arguing (or "economics as literature".

The Odes of Horace

Bastiat usually avoided quoting ancient Roman authors because of his contempt for their moral and political philosophy. He saw them as members of a warrior and slave owning elite who had little of value to say to modern readers living in a commercial society. The exception here is Bastiat's quoting of a French poet LeBrun who wrote an imitation of one of Horace's Odes (1834) in which the author claims his poetry will outlast the memory of the tyrants of his day, in a work which recalls to mind Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" (1818). The part quoted by Bastiat is in bold: [206]

Grace à la Muse qui m'inspire, Il est fini ce monument Que jamais ne pourront détruire Le fer ni le flot écumant. Le ciel même, armé de la foudre, Ne saurait le réduire en poudre: Les siècles l'essaieraient en vain. Il brave les tyrans avides Plus hardi que les pyramides Et plus durable que l'airain.

Thanks to the Muse who inspires me, this monument is finished which neither sword nor flood will ever destroy. Even the sky, armed with lightning, will not be able to reduce it to ashes: The centuries will also try in vain. It will defy the grasping tyrants, hardier than the pyramids and more lasting than bronze.

In this poem the author suggests that works of art and culture were more valuable and longer lasting than the reigns of tyrants and emperors who rose and fell with monotonous regularity in human history. Of course, the most recent example of this was Napoleon under whose reign Bastiat lived during the first fourteen years of his life and whose legacy so appalled classical liberals such as Benjamin Constant, Jean-Baptiste Say, and all the other political economists Bastiat was associated with in his day. Bastiat cites this poem in the "Conclusion" to Economic Sophisms Series I as he reflects on the importance of economic laws in explaining how wealth is created and how societies prosper or decline according to how well they follow these laws. The "monument" Bastiat has in mind is the book which best provides an exposition of these economic laws and thus can "destroy all sophisms virtually at once", [207] most likely a book such as Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) or Jean-Baptiste Say's Treatise of Political Economy (1803). Perhaps Bastiat thought he could write such a book as he worked on his magnum opus on economic theory, the Economic Harmonies, in the hope that it would become such "an imposing and durable edifice".

Literary Roads not Taken

Before concluding this section I should mention some literature which Bastiat did not use in his writing, namely references to classical Greek and Roman authors, to the Bible, and to William Shakespeare (except for one fleeting reference to Banquo's ghost in Economic Harmonies). Lack of references to Shakespeare's plays might be a result of the general disfavour Shakespeare had fallen into in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The revival of interest in his work in England did not take place until later in the century so, even though Bastiat read English well, he may not have come across many references to Shakespeare. This is a pity, as we would now think that Shakespeare had more interesting things to say about economic matters and the corrupting influence of political power than Molière on whom Bastiat leaned very heavily.

It is somewhat surprising that Bastiat does not use the two literary sources which were most commonly used by his contemporaries, namely classical Greek and Roman authors and the Bible. Although most educated Frenchmen had a classical background which they acquired during their earliest school days Bastiat did not. He had attended an experimental school near his home town at the College of Saint-Sever and then the Benedictine École de Sorèze (1814-1818) which taught modern languages and music. This provided Bastiat with the tools he needed to read widely in economic thought and literature and to pursue a love of music. Bastiat played the cello throughout his life and when he lived in Paris attended concerts and the opera on a regular basis (which he refers to in his correspondence).

It is interesting to note that, in an age when the study of the Greek and Roman classics still held a powerful sway over European culture, Bastiat explicitly rejected it as unsuitable for an emerging commercial and liberal age. He held ancient Greek and Roman authors in contempt as their writings were infused with the moral and political values of slave-owners, warriors, and political dictators. In this he shared a view similar to that of Benjamin Constant who wrote a famous essay contrasting "The Liberty of the Ancients and the Moderns" (1819) in which the virtues of "ancient" notions of political liberty for a small group came out very poorly when compared to "modern", i.e. post-Napoleonic, notions of political, economic, and social liberty. [208] We have one letter Bastiat wrote (March 1850) to Louise, the daughter of a close friend Madame Cheuvreux, advising her about what to read where he bemoans the lack of literature which shows women in a positive light. [209] He explicitly denounces ancient authors for their treatment of women as slaves and concubines. (He also mentions the "free trade rhymer" Ebenezer Elliot (1781-1849)):

Madame, … J’envoie à Mlle Louise quelques stances sur la femme qui m’ont plu. Elles sont pourtant d’un poëte économiste, car il a été surnommé The free-trade rhymer : le poëte du libre échange. Si j’en avais la force je ferais de cette pièce une traduction libre en prose et en trente pages ; cela ferait bien dans le journal de Guillaumin. Votre chère petite railleuse (je n’oublie pas qu’elle possède au plus haut degré l’art de railler, non-seulement sans blesser, mais presqu’en caressant) n’a pas grande foi dans la poésie industrielle ; elle a bien raison. C’est que j’aurais dû dire Poésie sociale, celle qui désormais, je [61] l’espère, ne prendra plus pour sujet de ses chants les qualités destructives de l’homme, les exploits de la guerre, le carnage, la violation des lois divines et la dégradation de la dignité morale, mais les biens et les maux de le vie réelle, les luttes de la pensée, toutes les combinaisons et affinités intellectuelles, industrielles, politiques, religieuses, tous les sentiments qui élèvent, perfectionnent et glorifient l’humanité. Dans cette épopée nouvelle, la femme occupera une place digne d’elle et non celle qui lui est faite dans les vieilles Iliades. Son rôle était-il de compter parmi le butin ?

Madam, … I am sending Mlle Louise a few verses on women, which I liked. They are, however, by a poet who is an economist since he has been nicknamed the free trade rhymer. If I had the strength I would do a free translation of this piece in thirty pages of prose; this would do well in Guillaumin’s journal. Your sweet little tease (I do not forget that she possesses the art of teasing to a high degree, not only without wounding but almost caressing) does not greatly believe in poetry of production and she is perfectly right. It is what I ought to have called Social Poetry, which henceforth, I hope, will no longer take for the subject of its songs the destructive qualities of man, the exploits of war, carnage, the violation of divine laws, and the degradation of moral dignity, but the good and evil in real life, the conflicts of thought, all forms of intellectual, productive, political, and religious combinations and affinities, and all the feelings that raise, improve, and glorify the human race. In this new epic, women will occupy a place worthy of them and not the one given to them in the ancient Iliad genre. Was their role really to be included in the booty?

Aux premières phases de l’humanité, la force étant le principe dominant, l’action de la femme s’efface. Elle a été successivement bête de somme, esclave, servante, pur instrument de plaisir. Quand le principe de la force cède à celui de l’opinion et des mœurs, elle recouvre son titre à l’égalité, son influence, son empire ; c’est ce qu’exprime bien le dernier trait de la petite pièce de vers que j’adresse Mlle Louise.

In the initial phases of humanity, when force was the dominant social principle, the action of woman was wiped out. She had been successively beast of burden, slave, servant, and mere instrument of pleasure. When the principle of force gave way to that of public opinion and customs, she recovered her right to equality, influence, and power, and this is what the last line of the small item of verse I am sending Mlle Louise expresses very well.

Because of this contempt for the ancient world, Bastiat never quotes any ancient literary sources directly in his writings. The exception is Bastiat’s quoting of a French poet LeBrun who wrote an imitation of one of Horace’s Odes (1834) mentioned above.

Bastiat's ignoring of the Bible is harder to explain as there are so many references of an economic nature to be found there. I have found only two explicit references to a bible story which is from John 2: 1-11 about Jesus' first public miracle where he turns water into wine at a wedding party, which Bastiat refers to as "l'urne de Cana" (the pitcher at Cana). Interestingly, both references occur in March 1848 shortly after the revolution broke out when expectations about what the new republican state could do for the workers were very high. Bastiat refers to it in ES3 21 “Soulagement immédiat du peuple” (The Immediate Relief of the People), La République française (12 March 1848) he reminded the workers of Paris that "the tax collector’s coffers are not the wine pitcher of Cana”. [210] The second reference is from June also of 1848 ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions) Journal des Economistes, 15 March 1848

We know Bastiat went through a crisis in his religious faith at an early age and that he was most likely a Deist of some kind after that. There is no reference to him attending Church services in his correspondence, or any reference to doctrinal matters other than a general belief in an after-life and some platitudinous remarks about the moral philosophy espoused by Jesus. He did take communion at his death bed from a relative who was priest but the reasons for this are not clear. For most of his life he was very hostile to the Church because he viewed it as one of the main pillars of political privilege and plunder which had been such a scourge for ordinary people over the centuries. In the sketches he wrote for a proposed book on the "History of "Plunder" one of the most detailed sections had to do with the nature of "theocratic plunder" and the way in which the Church had "duped" the people into paying for religious services which were spurious at best and probably completely fake at worst. [211] Given these ideas about the role of the Church in history it is not surprising that Bastiat was not well disposed towards the Bible and did not refer to it very often in his writing.

Bastiat's Language of Economic Analysis: From Popular Sayings to Technical Terminology↩

Rebutting Economic Errors in Popular Sayings: Montaigne et al.

Another rhetorical strategy Bastiat used was to rebut the economic errors expressed in popular sayings ("devises" or "apophthegmes") and to replace them with his own more correct ones. He would do this sometimes in formal prose, and sometimes in the form of stories. He thought this was important because popular sayings reinforced erroneous economic ideas as they are constantly repeated, accepted as true by most people, and hardly ever challenged or refuted.

One such saying to which he often returned was the title of one of Montaigne's essays, "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One man’s gain is another man’s loss). This was an older saying written before 1580 but which was still being repeated in his own day to suggest the immorality of making profits since economic activity was a "zero sum game" in which there could be only one "winner" and possibly many "losers". He also picked up on a couple of sayings made popular by contemporary socialists either to promote their own beliefs concerning socialist solidarity, such as “Chacun pour tous, tous pour chacun” (one for all and all for one), or to vilify liberal individualism, as in "chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi" (each person for themself, and each person keeps to himself).

Some other popular sayings were just mentioned in passing, while others were discussed at greater length mostly in chapters in his treatise.

The sayings to which he devoted the greatest attention were

1. Michel Montaigne's "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One man’s gain is another man’s loss) to which he devoted an entire sophism and an unfinished sketch
2. in a chapter in Economic Harmonies on "Les deux devises" (The Two Sayings) on “Chacun pour tous, tous pour chacun” (one for all and all for one) and "chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi" (each person for themself, and each person keeps to himself)

Other sayings which he mentioned in passing but did not elaborate upon included the following : [212]

1. "and production surabonde" - there is overproduction
2. "la faculté de consommer ne peut suivre la faculté de produire" - the ability to consume cannot keep up with the ability to produce
3. "le luxe et les goûts factices sont la source de la richesse" - luxury and artificial tastes are the source of wealth
4. "l’invention des machines anéantit le travail" - the invention of machines is wiping out work

To replace these erroneous sayings Bastiat offered some sayings and neologisms of his own creation.

I will discuss each of these in more detail below.

Montaigne: "Le sophisme souche" (the root of all sophisms) - "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One man’s gain is another man’s loss)

In a very short and unfinished note from 1847, ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss) (c.1847), Bastiat states that he thinks the root of all misunderstandings about the nature of free market economics, and thus all the forms of "sophisms", is the notion expressed in classical form by Montaigne that "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (a profit of one person is a loss for another).This was quoted several times by Bastiat in his writings. [213] Given its apparent importance it is pity Bastiat did not expand upon it apart from this very brief sophism which we have included in ES3 [214] and quote in full here:

Sophisme type, sophisme souche, d’où sortent des multitudes de sophismes, sophisme polype, qu’on ne peut couper en mille que pour donner naissance à mille sophismes, sophisme anti humain, anti-chrétien, anti-logique ; boîte de Pandore d’où sont sortis tous les maux de l’humanité, haines, défiances, jalousies, guerres, conquêtes, oppressions ; mais d’où ne pouvait sortir l’espérance.	Let me speak of a standard sophism, one that is the very root of a host of sophisms, one that is like a polyp which you can cut into a thousand pieces only to see it produce a thousand more sophisms, a sophism that offends alike against humanity, Christianity, and logic, a sophism that is a Pandora’s box from which have poured out all the ills of the human race, in the form of hatred, mistrust, jealousy, war, conquest, and oppression, and from which no hope can spring.
Hercule ! qui étranglas Cacus, Thésée ! qui assommas le Minotaure, Apollon ! qui tuas le serpent Python, que chacun de vous me prête sa force, sa massue, ses flèches pour détruire [vii-328] le monstre qui, depuis six mille ans, arme les hommes les uns contre les autres.	O you, Hercules, who strangled Cacus! You, Theseus, who killed the Minotaur! You, Apollo, who killed Python the serpent! I ask you all to lend me your strength, your club and your arrows, so that I can destroy the monster that has been arming men against one another for six thousand years!
Mais, hélas ! il n’est pas de massue qui puisse écraser un sophisme. Il n’est donné à la flèche ni même à la baïonnette de percer une proposition. Tous les canons de l’Europe réunis à Waterloo n’ont pu effacer du cœur des peuples un principe ; et ils n’effaceraient pas davantage une erreur. Cela n’est réservé qu’à la moins matérielle de toutes les armes, à ce symbole de légèreté, la plume.	Alas, there is no club capable of crushing a sophism. It is not given to arrows, nor even to bayonets, to pierce a proposition. All the cannons in Europe gathered at Waterloo could not eliminate an entrenched idea from the hearts of nations. No more could they efface an error. This task is reserved for the least weighty of all weapons, the very symbol of weightlessness, the pen.
Donc ce ne sont ni les dieux ni les demi-dieux de l’antiquité qu’il faut invoquer.	For this reason, neither the gods nor the demigods of antiquity should be invoked.
Si je voulais parler au cœur, je m’inspirerais du fondateur de la religion chrétienne. — Puisque c’est à l’esprit que je m’adresse et qu’il s’agit d’essayer une démonstration, je me place sous l’invocation d’Euclide et de Bezout, tout en appelant à mon aide les Turgot, les Say, les Tracy, les Ch. Comte. On dira « c’est bien froid ». Qu’importe, pourvu que la démonstration se fasse……	If I wished to speak from the heart, I would take inspiration from the Founder of the Christian religion. Since I am speaking to people’s intellects and the matter in hand is to try to produce definitive, formal argument, I will stand under the banner of Euclid and Bezout, while calling for help from Turgots, Says, Tracys, and Charles Comtes of this world. People will say that this is not very lively. What does it matter, provided that the argument advanced is successful? . . .

We do not known exactly when Bastiat wrote this sketch, but he referred to Montaigne's essay in a lecture he gave in Paris in July 1847 to a group of law students so he may well have written the sketch as he was preparing his lecture. Bastiat admits that "ce vieil adage" (this old adage) is true for some situations, such as international relations in his own day and in societies which lived by plunder like the ancient Romans, but is not true for economic behavior in general. To believe that Montaigne's saying is universally true is an example of "not seeing" the larger picture, which Bastiat does provide in his lecture to the students: [215]

Par exemple, vous connaissez ce vieil adage : Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre. On en a conclu qu’un peuple ne pouvait prospérer qu’aux dépens des autres peuples ; et la politique internationale, il faut le dire, est fondée sur cette triste maxime. Comment a-t-elle pu entrer dans les convictions publiques ?	For example, you know the old adage "one person's profit is another person's loss (harm)". From this one concludes that a people can only prosper at the expense of other people. One would have to say that international politics is founded on this sad maxim. How has it been able to enter the public's mind?
Il n’y a rien qui modifie aussi profondément l’organisation, les institutions, les mœurs et les idées des peuples que les moyens généraux par lesquels ils pourvoient à leur subsistance ; et ces moyens, il n’y en a que deux : la spoliation, en prenant ce mot dans son acception la plus étendue, et la production. — Car, Messieurs, les ressources que la nature offre spontanément aux hommes sont si limitées, qu’ils ne peuvent vivre que sur les produits du travail humain ; et ces produits, il faut qu’ils les créent ou qu’ils les ravissent à d’autres hommes qui les ont créés.	There is nothing which affects the organisation, institutions, morals, and ideas of a people as deeply as the general means by which they acquire the things they need to live. As for these means, there are only two: plunder (taking it in its broadest meaning) and production. Messieurs, this is because the resources which nature spontaneously offers mankind are so limited that we can only live on the products of human labour, and these products have to be created or they have to be taken from others who have created them.
Les peuples de l’antiquité, et particulièrement les Romains, — dans la société desquels nous passons tous notre [ii-255] jeunesse, — qu’on nous accoutume à admirer et que l’on propose sans cesse à notre imitation, vivaient de rapine. Ils détestaient, méprisaient le travail. La guerre, le butin, les tributs et l’esclavage devaient alimenter toutes leurs consommations.	The people of antiquity, especially the Romans, in whose company we spend most of our youth [ii-255], and which we are accustomed to admiring and urged constantly to immitate, lived by pillaging. They detested and disdained working. War, booty, tribute and slavery had to supply all their needs.
Il en était de même des peuples dont ils étaient environnés.	It was the same for the the other people who lived around them
Il est bien évident que, dans cet ordre social, cette maxime : Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre, était de la plus rigoureuse vérité. Il en est nécessairement ainsi entre deux hommes ou deux peuples qui cherchent réciproquement à se spolier.	It is quite clear that in this social order the maxim "the profit of one is the loss of another" was the harshest truth. It is also necessarily the case for two men or two societies who seek to to plunder each other in a reciprocal fashion.
Or, comme c’est chez les Romains que nous allons chercher toutes nos premières impressions, toutes nos premières idées, nos modèles et les sujets de notre vénération presque religieuse, il n’est pas bien surprenant que cette maxime ait été considérée par nos sociétés industrielles comme la loi des relations internationales.	Now since we look to the Romans for all our first impressions and initial ideas, all our models and objects of veneration with an almost religious (ferver), it is not at all surprising that this maxim woulsmhave been regarded by our idustrial socieites as the law of interenational relations.
Elle sert de base au système restrictif ; et si elle était vraie, il n’y aurait pas de remède entre l’incurable antagonisme que la Providence se serait plu à mettre entre les nations.	It serves as the foundation of the system of trade restriction; and if it was true, there would not be any remedy for this incurable antagonism between nations which Providence has seen fit to create.
Mais la doctrine du libre-échange démontre rigoureusement, mathématiquement, la vérité de l’axiome opposé, à savoir : Que le dommage de l’un est le dommage de l’autre, et que chaque peuple est intéressé à la prospérité de tous.	But the theory of free trade has rigorusly demonstrated the truth of the opposite axiom, namely "that harm to one is harm to another," and that "each people is interested in the prosperity of all".
Je n’aborderai pas ici cette démonstration qui résulte d’ailleurs du fait seul que la nature de l’échange est opposée à celle de la spoliation. Mais votre sagacité vous fera apercevoir d’un coup d’œil les grandes conséquences de cette doctrine, et le changement radical qu’elle introduirait dans la politique des peuples, si elle venait à obtenir leur universel assentiment.	I will not provide here the (full) proof which comes from the sole fact that the nature of exchange is opposed to that of plunder. But your wisdom will lead you to see with a single glance the profound consequences of this theory, and the radical change which it (would) introduce into the policies of nations, if it got their universal agreement.

Refuting Two Sayings of the Socialists

A pair of sayings used by socialists in his own day also attracted Bastiat's attention. They were “Chacun pour tous, tous pour chacun” (one for all and all for one) and "chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi" (each person for themself, and each person keeps to himself). The first saying was used by socialists to express their belief that selfish individuals should sacrifice their interests for the good of society as a whole. The second was used by socialists to expose the anti-social beliefs and behavior of those who espoused the philosophy of "individualism," the opposite of socialism. He devoted a chapter to discussing them in the second, posthumously published part of Economic Harmonies, explicitly entitled "Les deux devises" (The Two Sayings). [216]

In summary, Bastiat thought both sayings were "bien incomplète, bien fausse, bien triste" (quite, incomplete, quite false, and quite sad), and that attempts to argue that the principles of solidarity and sympathy (asserted by the first) were in conflict with the principles of self-interest (expressed in the second) were erroneous and were thus examples of yet another "fallacy" and "sophism" which needed to be refuted.

“Chacun pour tous, tous pour chacun” (one for all and all for one)

This saying was adopted by followers of the socialist Étienne Cabet (1788-1856) who used it as part of the program for their utopian community which they established in Nauvoo, Illinois in early 1848, so it was no doubt part of the debate about socialism which was taking place throughout the 1840s in France, and in particular during the early months of the Second Republic when the National Workshops program was in full swing. In the statement of principles the supporters of Cabet defined "Solidarity” as “Assurance mutuelle et universelle. Chacun pour tous ; Tous pour chacun.” (Mutual and universal support. One for all; all for one). [217]

Bastiat argued that the socialists were wrong to claim that their slogan "chacun pour tous", supposedly expressing support for "le principe sympathique" (the principle of sympathy (for others)), was unique to socialism. It was in fact he argued, a central position of the liberal economists. The socialists also claimed that they alone were in favour of "l'association" (the association of workers to protect themselves against employers) and "l'organisation" (the organisation of work into worker controlled and state-supported workshops). [218] On many occasions Bastiat took Louis Blanc and Victor Considerant to task for saying this. Louis Blanc’s influential pamphlet L’Organisation du travail (1839) in which these views were expounded at some length was reprinted many times during the 1840s and was thus often referred to by Bastiat. He pointed out that the economists were very much in favour of associations and organisations of all kinds (indeed they were the lynchpin of any liberal market society) but only so long as they were "natural" and voluntary and not "artificial", i.e. based upon coercion, especially state coercion. [219] The trouble with the socialist conception of these ideas was that state coercion was central to them, and that when they came into existence they would be run by what he called authoritarian "social mechanics" who would treat individuals as if they were so many "cogs and wheels", or "potters" who would shape society as if it were a lump of inanimate clay, and the entire economy and all aspects of social life would be overseen by a whole new ruling class of "Functionaries". [220]

He would also go to some length in arguing that human beings were motivated as much by "Solidarity" with their fellow human beings as they were by self-interest. This solidarity with others was expressed in the drive to live with others who shared common values, to have families, to cooperate with others for mutual benefit in the production of goods and services (the division of labour), and to engage in mutually beneficial voluntary exchange. It was so powerful and fundamental to human existence that Bastiat promoted it to one of the "natural laws" of political and social economy, namely the “law of human solidarity". [221]

"Chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi" (each person for themself, and each person keeps to himself)

The second saying “Chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi” can be literally translated as “each person for himself, each person (staying) in his own home or domain”). FEE translated this difficult phrase as “Every man for himself, every man by himself.” It is quite similar in my view to the lesson Voltaire wanted to impart at the end of his philosophic tale Candide (1759) that in order to avoid conflict and harm to others each person should mind their own business and "cultivate their own garden." [222]

The saying "chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi" was seen by socialists like Pierre Leroux (1798-1871) as typifying the selfish and anti-social behavior of advocates of free trade and free markets. For example, Leroux used it in the sense of rapacious selfish behaviour: [223]

tant que la devise du siècle sera chacun pour soi, chacun chez soi, il y aura des loups—cerviers

to the extent that the saying of the century becomes “each for himself and each within their own realm/domain)," there will be ravenous wolves (literally “deer hunting wolves”)

On the other hand, this was rejected by defenders of free trade and free markets as being false or incomplete. For example, the lawyer and politician André Dupin (1783-1865) rejected the first part "chacun chez soi" as inherently anti-commerce since it urged people to refuse to trade or interact with other commercially and instead "stay at home." In fact, he thought it was a protectionist sentiment which should be replaced by the more accurate "les uns chez les autres" (people go to each other's place (to trade)). If the phrase "chacun chez soi" had any good interpretation, Dupin thought, it was a legal or international one, namely "minding one's own business" either as an individual one of not interfering in the life and property of others, or an international one, of countries staying within their own borders and not interfering in the affairs of other countries. He concluded that a far better principle to live by was expressed by the phrase "chacun son droit" (each person enjoys what is his by right). [224]

Bastiat's objection was that those who saw only its harmful "individualist" aspect did not look any further or look harder at what was in front of them. His understanding of how markets operated was based on the idea that an individual in a primitive state or like Robinson Crusoe isolated on an island might work exclusively to satisfy their own personal needs, but as soon as other individuals entered the picture production in order to satisfy the needs of others was not only possible but created the opportunity for much greater productivity for everyone through cooperation and the division of labour. In this larger market-based order "tous ses travaux (ont) pour objet la satisfaction d'autrui" (all labour has as its purpose the satisfaction of others). [225] Thus there was no contradiction between liberal "individualism" and socialist "association". In fact, the former required a myriad of voluntary association and other forms of cooperation in order to function. In other words, the former promoted the latter in a way socialism never could. So, Bastiat turned the saying on its head and wrote his own: "chacun, en travaillant pour soi, travaille en effet pour tous" (each person by working for themselves is in effect working for all). [226]

Bastiat's Neologism: "socier"

At times Bastiat seems to be struggling to find the right words to describe what he is trying to articulate given the fact that the language and literature he had to work with was so often riddled with anti-market and anti-liberal connotions. He uses the words "associer" (to associate), "s'associer" (to associate with each other, to be associated with others), and "la sociabilité" (sociability) but in order to best say what he was thinking he had to invent a new word "socier" which we might translate either literally as "to sociate", in order to emphasis the fact that it is new invented word, or simply "to be sociable". [227] Here is the full paragraph where Bastiat grapples with this problem of finding the right vocabulary to use: [228]

En cela, je le répète, ils se font de la Société une vue tout à fait fausse, à force d'être incomplète. Alors même qu'ils ne sont mus que par leur intérêt personnel, les hommes cherchent à se rapprocher, à combiner leurs efforts, à unir leurs forces, à travailler les uns pour les autres, à se rendre des services réciproques, à socier ou s'associer. Il ne serait pas exact de dire qu'ils agissent ainsi malgré l'intérêt personnel; non, ils agissent ainsi par intérêt personnel. Ils socient parce qu'ils s'en trouvent bien. S'ils devaient s'en mal trouver, ils ne socieraient pas. L'individualisme accomplit donc ici l'œuvre que les sentimentalistes de notre temps voudraient confier à la Fraternité, à l'abnégation, ou je ne sais à quel autre mobile opposé à l'amour de soi.

In this, I repeat, they are taking a totally false view of society, because this view is (incomplete). Although driven only by self-interest, men seek to group together, to combine their efforts, to unite their forces, to work for each other, to render each other reciprocal services, and to "sociate"" or to associate with each other. It would not be true to say that they act in this way in spite of self-interest; no, they act in this way because of self-interest. They “sociate” because they benefit from it. If it were something bound not to advantage them, they would not “sociate.” Individualism thus achieves here the work that the sentimentalists of our era would like to entrust to fraternity, self-denial, or whatever other driving force in opposition to self-love.

He would use the word "socier" again in the chapter "Des salaires" (On Wages) also in the context of opposing the socialist's "primitive" idea of association being imposed on society by law as part of the organizing of work in the future socialist society. [229]

Dans les temps d'inexpérience et de barbarie, sans doute les hommes socient, s'associent, puisque, nous l'avons démontré, ils ne peuvent pas vivre sans cela; mais l'association ne peut prendre chez eux que cette forme primitive, élémentaire que les socialistes nous donnent comme la loi et le salut de l'avenir.

In barbarous times when there was little knowledge of human experience, men doubtless "sociated" and associated with each other because, as we have shown, they could not live without them, but in their case association can take only the primitive and elementary form that socialists are now telling us will be the rule and salvation of the future.

Some New Sayings to replace the Old

To replace these erroneous sayings by Montaigne and the socialists Bastiat created some sayings and neologisms of his own.

The most obvious thing to do was to simply reverse Montaigne's saying, or to modify the wording slightly so that it would read something like:

1. “le profit de l’un est le profit de l’autre” (one man’s profit is another man’s profit). [230]
2. "la prospérité de chacun (est) la prospérité de tous" [231]
3. " le dommage de l’un est le dommage de l’autre, et que chaque peuple est intéressé à la prospérité de tous." [232]

He also attempted, rather clumsily it should be said, to sum up his own economic theory in some pithy sayings. His goal was always to to help his readers better understand complex economic matters but it is not clear that these "sayings" would achieve this. I would count this attempt as one of Bastiat's few failings, at least when compared to the brilliance of many of the economic sophisms: [233]

J'ai établi ces deux propositions:	I have established the following two propositions:
Dans l'isolement, nos besoins surpassent nos facultés. Par l'échange, nos facultés surpassent nos besoins.	In isolation, our needs are greater than our capacities. Through exchange, our capacities are greater than our needs.
Elles donnent la raison de la société. En voici deux autres qui garantissent son perfectionnement indéfini:	They explain why society exists. Here are two others that guarantee its unlimited progress (towards perfection):
Dans l'isolement, les prospérités se nuisent. Par l'échange, les prospérités s'entr'aident.	In a state of isolation, the prosperity of one man harms that of others. By exchanging with one another, the prosperity of one helps others to prosper.

Bastiat concludes his discussion of economic sayings by stating that the entire social problem could not be solved unless one chose the right one upon which to base one's economic policies. Which of course, was a very tall order. [234]

Que l'on considère les relations d'homme à homme, de famille à famille, de province à province, de nation à nation, d'hémisphère à hémisphère, de capitaliste à ouvrier, de propriétaire à prolétaire, il est évident, ce me semble, qu'on ne peut ni [99] résoudre ni même aborder le problème social à aucun de ses points de vue avant d'avoir choisi entre ces deux maximes:	When one thinks about the relations between individuals, between famimlies, between provinces, between nations, between hemispheres, between capitalist and worker, it is evident, it seems to me, that one cannot solve or even come close to solving the social question on any of these levels, without first making a choice between these two maxims:
Le profit de l'un est le dommage de l'autre. Le profit de l'un est le profit de l'autre.	One man’s profit is another man’s loss. One man’s profit is another man’s profit.

Bastiat's choice of course was obvious.

Bastiat's Unique Vocabulary of Economic and Political Analysis

Introduction

In order to better express some of his original ideas about economic theory, his analysis of the state, and his theory of plunder Bastiat developed a unique set of terms and concepts. Some of these terms provided him with a "rhetoric" which he used in his journalism which was aimed primarily at a more popular audience, such as his "sophisms." This rhetoric was more satirical, amusing, and "dure" (harsh). Running parallel to this was another set of terms which he used in his more theoretical economic and political writing. This was a more technical vocabulary which was aimed at readers who were interested in and knowledgeable about economic and political theory. This second set of terms was not satirical or amusing but more measured and restrained as one might expect in an academic treatise.

Having said this, one can see some of his more technical terms appearing in his earlier, journalistic writing as if he were "testing them out" before he had settled on their exact place in his more mature economic theory. One can also see one of his innovations in discussing economic ideas which first appeared in his journalism, namely his use of "economic stories", becoming an important part of his treatise. The use of stories to explain economic ideas was most unusual and makes Bastiat unique among his peers. However, in the treatise Bastiat no longer used stories about Jacques Bonhomme (his last appearance was in WSWNS) - he was replaced by "economic stories" about Jonathan (who lived in America), Robinson Crusoe, and Vendredi. Thus we can identify two separate but sometimes overlapping sets of words and styles of expression in his journalism and his theoretical writings.

It should be noted that at the same time as Bastiat was writing the first of his more popular economic sophisms during 1845 he had already developed the majority of his more specialised and technical terms which he would use five years later in Economic Harmonies. These appeared in his JDE article "Un économiste à M. de Lamartine" (Letter from an Economist to M. de Lamartine) in February 1845. [235]

Bastiat's "Rhetoric of Liberty" in his Journalism

As explained above, the rhetoric Bastiat developed in his journalism was more satirical, amusing, and explicit ("dure" or "harsh") as the following word list indicates. As we will see in this list and also the one below on his more technical vocabulary, Bastiat often used word pairs (either words that were similar or opposite in meaning). I also include in this list words which Bastiat himself used to describe what it was that he was trying to do in his journalism:

• les sophismes (misleading and deceptive arguments) : the essays he wrote on "the sophisms" were the core of Bastiat's "rhetoric of liberty"; the aim was show how people were "duped" by false or sophistical arguments by his using humor and satire to make economics less "dry and boring"; part of his verbal weaponry was his provocative vocabulary of theft, plunder, and other acts of violence
  • the areas where misleading and deceptive arguments were used included sophisme théocratique (theocratic sophisms), sophisme économique (economic sophisms), sophisme politique (political sophisms), sophisme financier (financial sophisms).
• "les expressions dures" (harsh language)
• "une explosion de franchise" (an explosion of plain speaking)
• "la ridicule" - "la piqûre du ridicule" (the sting of ridicule)
• les dupes (dupes, those who have been deceived)/la duperie (deception): Bastiat believed that individuals were deprived of their property directly by means of la force (coercion or force) or indirectly by means of la ruse (fraud or trickery) or la duperie (deception). The beneficiaries of this force and fraud used les sophismes (misleading and deceptive arguments) to deceive ordinary people, whom he referred to as les dupes (dupes).
• la ruse (fraud or trickery)
• “la spoliation" (plunder) and related terms - the theory and history of plunder, legal plunder, extra-legal plunder, and the historical stages through which it has evolved (war, slavery, theocratic plunder, monopoly, the modern regulatory state ("governmentalism" or "functionaryism"), and socialism/communism)
  • “les spoliateurs” (the plunderers) and "les spoliés" (the plundered)
  • “la classe spoliatrice” (the plundering class) and “les classes spoliées” (the plundered classes)
  • “la spoliation extra-légale” (extra-legal plunder) and “la spoliation légale” (legal plunder)
• "le vol" (theft) / "voler" (to steal) and related terms
  • "le vol de grand chemin" or "le vol à l’américaine" (highway robbery)
  • "le vol au tarif" (theft by tariffs)
  • “le vol à la prime” (theft by subsidy)
  • "le vol organisé" (organise theft, by the government)
  • "le vol réciproque" (mutual theft)
  • and related terms:
    • "dépouiller"(to dispossess),
    • "spolier" (to plunder),
    • "piller" (to loot or pillage),
    • “raviser” (to ravish or rape),
    • "filouter" (filching);
• "la classe" (class) and related terms (see also "la spoliation" (plunder) - those who have access to the power of the state use if for their own benefit at the expense of others; the former are the plundering class and latter are the plundered classes; history is the story of the struggle between these two classes, one to maximise its benefits, the other to minimise these impositions
  • "la classe des protégés" (the class protected by tariffs)
  • "la classe électorale" (the class which benefited from the very restricted franchise)
  • "une classe privilégiée" (the privileged class)
  • "la classe oligarchique" (the oligarchy which ruled England)
  • “la classe oisive” (the idle class)
  • "les classes productives" (the productive classes) and "les classes improductives" (the unproductive classes)
  • “la classe opprimée” (the oppressed class)
  • "la classe de fonctionnaires" (the class of government bureaucrats)

• "ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas" (the seen and the unseen) and related terms: throughout his writing there are references to "seeing" and "not seeing", "sight" and "foresight", "perceiving" things and being "deceived," seeing things from only "one side" and not all sides. This important concept first appeared in his journalism but it was a major part of his more theoretical writing. bastiat defined a "bad economist" as one who relies only the visible effect on an action or policy; a "good economist" as one who takes account both of the effect one can see now and of those one must foresee.

Bastiat's Technical Vocabulary used in his Economic and Political Theory

The full list of these important terms and their related vocabulary "clusters" is the following (in alphabetical order):

1. "l'action humaine" (human action) and related terms: Bastiat thought that human beings had free will, had wants they wished to satisfy, took steps to satisfy those wants, and altered their behaviour as conditions changed over time. He refers to humans as "un être actif" (an acting or active being) and to their behaviour in the economic world as "l"action humaine" (human action) or "l'action de l'homme" (the action of human beings, or human action), and to the guiding principle behind it all as "le principe actif" or "le principe d'activité" (the principle of action). Related terms are:
   1. "un être actif" or "l’être agissant" (an acting or active being)
   2. "un agent" (an agent, or actor) and "un agent intelligent" (an intelligent or thinking actor)
2. "l'appareil" (apparatus or system) - the idea of "un appareil" (apparatus or system) is used several times in various contexts; see also "le mécanisme"
   1. in the economic realm there is "l'appareil de l'échange" (the apparatus or system of exchange or trade) and "l'appareil commercial" (the apparatus or system of commerce), by which he meant the complex interlocking relationships which made voluntary trade and exchange possible
   2. in the political realm the were also complex structures but this time based upon the use of coercion: "l’appareil de la guerre" (the apparatus of war), "l’appareil de la sanction légale" (the apparatus of legal coercion), and "le vaste appareil gouvernemental" (the vast apparatus of government); note this long expression - “cet appareil de magistrature, police, gendarmerie et prison au service du spoliateur” (this apparatus of the courts, the police, the gendarmes, and the prisons (all) at the service of the plunderer)
3. "autre chose" (something else or "faire autre chose" (to do something else): Bastiat believed that every individual had a hierarchy of wants/needs which they prioritised by the urgency of that want or need and the resources they had at that particular time to satisfy those wants/needs; once a higher priority want was satisfied and if more time and/or resources became available or the price dropped, the consumer would attempt to satisfy the next want on their list; they would either "do something else" or spend their money "on something else". This is his idea of opportunity cost.
4. "un bazar" (a bazaar), “un grand marché” (one great market), "Société c’est Échange" (society is exchange): the idea that society itself was a bazaar or one great market; that everything in society was interconnected by overlapping markets, voluntary associations, and individual activity of myriad kinds
5. "coeteris paribus" or “toutes choses égales d’ailleurs” (all other things being equal): Bastiat was one of the first economists in the Paris School in the 1840s to regularly use the important economic expression "ceteris paribus" and its French-language equivalent "toutes choses égales d'ailleurs" (all other things being equal) in his explanations of economic phenomena. J.S. Mill was also an early adopter of the concept at the same time as Bastiat.
6. "le consommateur" (the consumer) and "le producteur" (the producer): Bastiat had a "consumer-centric" view of economic activity, that the purpose of production was not production (or labour) for its own sake but production to satisfy the needs of consumers; related to this is the idea that every consumer is also a producer and vice-versa
7. "déplacé" (displaced, distorted) / "la déplacement" (displacement, distortion, misdirection): when the government intervened in the economy it caused a distortion in its structure through the misallocation of capital, labour, and population, and "artificial" changes in consumer needs, tastes, and interests which producers attempted to satisfy. These “displacements” did nothing to increase the amount of wealth in society and often led to economic fluctuations and periodic crises. Related terms:
   1. “détourner” (to divert, distort, turn away), “détourné’ (diverted, distorted), and “le détournement” (diversion, distortion)
8. "les forces/causes perturbatrices" (disturbing forces/factors) and "les forces/causes réparatrices/curatives" (restorative, curative, self-correcting factors/forces): Central to Bastiat's economic theory is the idea that, if left unmolested by government intervention or violence by other individuals, human societies have a tendency to follow a path towards economic development which was "pacifique, régulier et progressif" (peaceful, steady, and progressive). Deviations from this path were caused by
   1. disturbing factors such as theft, violence, fraud, monopoly, protectionism, subsidies, and war which upset the harmony which free exchange and markets had created; however,
   2. there is a tendency for restorative (or reparative) factors to intervene to repair the damage by the disturbing forces and to restore harmony once it has been disrupted
9. “l’harmonie” (harmony) vs. “la dissonance” (disharmony): if people are left free to go about their lives and their property rights are respected, society will tend to be "harmonious" and increasingly prosperous; if force and fraud are allowed to intrude then societies will increasingly become "disharmonious"
   1. related term: "les harmonies sociales" (the social harmonies) was another book Bastiat wanted to write after he had finished the Economic Harmonies which would deal with aspects of social life other than the purely economic
10. "le mécanisme" (mechanism or machine): see also "l'appareil" (apparatus): society is like a clock or a mechanism (with wheels, springs, and a driving force), the wheels and cogs are thinking, choosing, acting individuals with free will, and the driving force of society which kept everything in motion is individual self-interest; this was disrupted when socialists and others thought they could meddle and regulate the social mechanism as if they were engineers or mechanics; as with "l"appareil" there were two different kinds of "mécanisme", one that relates to the market and voluntary activities, and one which relates to coercive government activities; both types were made up of "les rouages" (cogs, wheels) and "les ressorts" (springs)
    1. in the economic realm: there is “le mécanisme social” (the social mechanism) , “le mécanisme de la société” (the mechanism or machine of society), and "le mécanisme économique" (the economic mechanism) which was driven by "le moteur social" (the motor or driving force of society) which was self-interest; there was “le vaste mécanisme qu’on appelle commerce” (the vast mechanism which is called commerce), "le mécanisme industriel" (the mechanism of industry); "le prodigieux mécanisme" (the prodigious mechanism) which fed a large city like Paris, and "le mécanisme de l’ordre social naturel" (the mechanism of the natural social order)
    2. in the political realm: there is "le mécanisme gouvernemental" (the mechanism of the government), "le mécanisme de l'Etat" (the mechanism of the state), and "le mécanisme des restrictions" (the mechanism of trade restrictions); there are two things which made the government mechanism different from market mechanisms, namely the "driving force" behind the actions of the politicians and bureaucrats ("fonctionnaires") which was the desire to control and/or plunder others, and the existence of a class of people who operated the mechanism of the state, namely "les mécaniciens" (the mechanics or social engineers or economic planners), "le grand Mécanicien" (the great mechanic who ran everything), "l'organisateur" (the organiser of society) who treated individuals as inanimate "cogs and wheels" or "putty" who could be manipulated at will
11. "naturelle" vs. "artificielle" or "factice" was a common pairing Bastiat used in order to distinguish between cooperative and voluntary activity which he regarded as "naturelle", and coerced activity which he regarded as "artificielle" of "factice", e.g.
    1. "l'organisation naturelle" (an organisation created voluntarily by individuals to achieve their goals) vs. "l'organisation artificielle" (an organisation created by coercion usually by the government to achieve its purposes); also "une organisation artificielle, imaginée, inventée" (an artificial organisation which has been imagined and created by some government planner)
    2. le monopole naturel" (a natural monopoly) vs. "le monopole artificiel" (a state created monopoly)
    3. "le mécanisme social naturel" (a social structure or organisation which has been created voluntarily) vs. "un mécanisme artificiel" (a social structure or organisation which has been created coercively by the state)
    4. "la solidarité naturelle" (the type of solidarity or "fellow feeling" which comes about by means of voluntary association) vs. "la solidarité artificielle" (the type of "false" solidarity which comes about through government coercion)
12. “la perfectibilité de l’homme” (the perfectibility of mankind): the capacity to improve oneself, to progress both morally and in terms of wealth, was unique to the human species both as individuals and to the societies of which they were members; he was optimistic that there there was "le rapprochement indéfini de toutes les classes vers un niveau qui s’élève toujours" (the never ending approach of all classes to a standard of living that is constantly rising)
13. "le prix-débattu" (the negotiated price): Bastiat believed that all exchanges should be voluntarily undertaken based upon a negotiated price between the two parties involved, who would then exchange "une service pour une service" (one service for another) for an expected mutual benefit
14. "la propriété" (private property) and "la communauté" (common or communal property): Bastiat believed that private property and individual self-interest was the driving force ("le moteur social") behind progress and increased prosperity; a consequence of this was that “la masse commune” (the commons, the common fund or pool of wealth) of knowledge and capital also increased over time and raised the general standard of living of the society as a whole
    1. related term: "le domaine* (the sphere or domain in which certain property rights exist and certain actions take place); Bastiat thought there were three “domains” or realms each with their own form of property and which were clearly separated from each other by a boundary or line of demarcation. The three domains are “le domaine de la communauté” (the domain of commonly owned property, or “the Commons”), “le domaine de la propriété” (the domain of private property), and “le domaine de la spoliation” (the domain of plundered property)
    2. "le domaine de la gratuité et de la communauté" (the domain where things are free of charge and available to all): some of these things are provided by nature and technology, some are the result of previous human activity (knowledge and previous acquired common capital); Bastiat believes that this domain is constantly increasing over time for the benefit of everybody in society
    3. "le domaine de la propriété" (the domain of private property): things which are scarce and are the result of human work and effort have a "value" (price) and are privately owned and exchanged
    4. “le domaine de la spoliation” (the domain of plundered property, where private property was violated by being plundered by powerful groups (slave owners, the Church, well-connected manufacturers and landowners) or no longer existed at all in the case of socialism and communism
15. “la loi de la responsabilité” (the law of (individual) responsibility)) and “la loi de la solidarité” (the law of (human) solidarity)): these two ideas operated like natural laws; individuals learnt from their mistakes and benefited from the appropriate changes they make in their actions, and they take full responsibility for their actions (good or bad, productive or unproductive); they also had extensive ties with others which bound them in solidarity with their fellow human beings for mutual benefit, in other words they were naturally sociable (Bastiat coined a new word to describe this "socier" (to 'sociate' with others))
16. "par ricochet" (the ricochet effect, flow on effect): that there were indirect or "flow on" effects to third parties from economic and political activity which was a result of the interconnectedness of everything in the market; Bastiat thought there were two kinds of "ricochet effects"
    1. positive ricochet effects which benefitted society as a whole, such as the invention of printing or steam powered ships
    2. negative ricochet effects which benefitted particular individuals or groups of individuals as a result of tariffs, subsidies, and taxes, at the expense of ordinary consumers and taxpayers. The latter were deceived about these negative effects by the use of "the sophism of the ricochet effect" which tried to argue that they in fact benefited from these laws and privileges
    3. also related terms, "glisser" (the flow of knowledge); the transmission of information through prices with metaphors of water, hydraulics, and electricity flows
17. "service pour service" (service for service) - and several variants: every exchange is a mutually beneficial exchange between two parties who are free to negotiate the terms with each other; what is exchanged is one service for another
    1. “la mutualité des services” (the mutual exchange of services)
    2. "les services réciproques" (reciprocal services)
18. "voir" (to see): "ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas" (the seen and the unseen) and related terms (see above for details)

I have attempted to show graphically the "clusters" of words and phrases Bastiat used for some of his key terms in a paper on "Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Frédéric Bastiat" (2022) Online. See the vocabulary clusters for the following concepts in the Appendix: Class, Disturbing Factors, Harmony and Disharmony, Human Action, Plunder, and the Seen and the Unseen.

Word Pairings

Bastiat often used pairs of words in his vocabulary. Some pairings are antagonistic (in opposition to each) while others are complementary (related or similar).

Antagonistic word pairings:

1. “la charité volontaire” (voluntary charity) and “l'a charité légale ou forcée” (coerced or government charity)
2. “la classe spoliatrice” (the plundering class) and “les classes spoliées” (the plundered classes)
3. "les forces perturbatrices" (disturbing forces/factors) and "les forces réparatrices"
4. “l’harmonie” (harmony) vs. “la dissonance” (disharmony)
5. "l'organisation naturelle" (an organisation created voluntarily by individuals to achieve their goals) vs. "l'organisation artificielle" (an organisation created by coercion usually by the government to achieve its purposes)
6. “les spoliateurs” (the plunderers) and "les spoliés" (the plundered)
7. "voir" (to see) and "ne pas voir" (not to see)

Complementary word pairings:

1. "le consommateur" (the consumer) and "le producteur" (the producer)
2. "le domaine de la propriété" (the domain of private property) and "le domaine de la communauté" (the domain of common property)
3. la force (coercion or force) or la ruse (fraud or trickery)
4. “la loi de la responsabilité” (the law of (individual) responsibility)) and “la loi de la solidarité” (the law of (human) solidarity))
5. "la propriété" (private property) and "la communauté" (common or communal property)
6. “la spoliation extra-légale” (extra-legal plunder) and “la spoliation légale” (legal plunder)

Bastiat's Invention of his own Economic Stories I↩

Bastiat's depiction of a Free Market Utopia

"The Utopian" politician in France

On two occasions Bastiat allowed himself the luxury of imagining what a free market utopia might look like. We also have several examples of the opposite, of interventionist dystopias where the protectionists have run wild, and a couple of absurdist dystopias where interventionist policies are ridiculed by means of "reductio ad absurdum" arguments taken to their logical and unpleasant conclusion.

It is fitting that Bastiat would write his own liberal utopian vision as it was in vogue among contemporary socialists like Saint-Simon, Étienne Cabet, and Charles Fourier who wrote unintentionally absurd and amusing visions of a socialist society where people lived communally in "phalanxes" and birth control was a natural consequence of rigorous "socialist labour", with which Bastiat was quite familiar and which were mocked by the political caricaturist Amédée de Noé in a cartoon "'New' Socialist Ideas in 1848". [236] In ES2 11 “L'utopiste" (The Utopian) (January 1847) Bastiat envisages a radical classical liberal politician who dreams of being able to form a new government with the power and authority to enact his dream slate of policies in order to reform France. [237] It is structured as a conversation between an unknown interlocutor (probably the King who offers him the position) and the politician, and Bastiat runs wild imagining what he would do if he were given such power. The policies he proposes are really quite radical in their scope (and some were in fact enacted in the first year of the Revolutionary government which came to power in early 1848), as the following proposals indicate (it should be noted that the French government at this time got most of its revenue from indirect taxes of various kinds and tariffs):

• cut the tax on postage from 43 to 10 centimes
• cut the salt tax from 30 c./kg to 10 c./kg
• end the prohibition and high tariffs on imported goods and have a universal 5% tariff rate on both exported and imported goods [238]
• abolish all tolls imposed on local goods brought into French cities
• disband the national army of France and replace it with local voluntary militias
• end all state subsidies to religious groups and enact freedom of religion
• end all state funding of education and enact freedom of education
• nationalise the railways which were private monopolies and allow economic freedom in the transport industry
• pay off the national debt

In the end, the Utopian politician resigns because he realises that his reforms are literally "utopian" since they would have to be imposed upon a population which did not share his political and moral values and that reform from above would prove to be counter-productive in the long run. For economic reforms to work, Bastiat thought, they had to be supported overwhelmingly by public opinion which was the raison d'être for his economic journalism and pamphleteering in favour of free trade and deregulation.

Sancho Panza in "Barataria"

His second utopian vision is more like a dystopia which is only narrowly averted by a liberal-minded ruler at the last moment. Interestingly it uses two characters from Cervantes' novel Don Quixote, which is referred to twice in Bastiat's writings, and was never published in Bastiat's lifetime. In the novel Don Quixote's squire Sancho Panza is made the governor of the island of Barataria by some noblemen as a prank. They wanted to see how an apparently simple-minded commoner like Sancho would handle the duties of a ruler who would normally be an aristocrat. The name of the island "Barataria" is a play on the Spanish word "barato" which means cheap, easy, or simple. Sancho outsmarted the noblemen by acting as a "Solomonic" ruler who could settle disputes quickly and fairly, and who could see through the sophistry of his advisors. [239] In one of the chapters describing Sancho's exploits as ruler there is an exchange of letters between him and Don Quixote which is what Bastiat uses in his version of the story.

Bastiat's short piece is undated and incomplete. His French editor Paillottet spoke to him about it shortly before he died and he told Paillottet that he did not complete it because he had qualms about putting ideas about liberty and free markets in the mouth of Sancho Panza and the language of socialism and utopia in the mouth of Don Quixote. This is a pity as Bastiat had no such qualms when he put ideas about liberty and free markets in the mouth of Friday and protectionist ideas in the mouth of Robinson Crusoe in some of his economic sophisms.

In Bastiat's sophism the story takes the form of a series of letters written between Sancho, who has been appointed dictator of the island of Barataria, and Don Quixote, who has been advising him about the best way to rule the island, like a typical socialist might in 1848. Don Quixote urges Sancho to use his powers to treat the island and its inhabitants like a machine whose parts can be ordered at will by the "mechanic" or ruler. [240] He wants him to re-instate slavery for 95% of the population and force them to labour for the benefit of the ruling 5%. This ruling class would devote themselves to martial activities and the pursuit of "virtue" much like the Romans whom Bastiat despised so much. Don Quixote tells Sancho that the people will willingly obey him if he can persuade them that he has supernatural powers and can intimidate and fool them into obedience.

After 10 days of ruling Barataria Sancho resigns in disgust preferring the life of a simple labourer to that of a privileged and pampered ruler. In Cervantes' novel he states : [241]

Make way, gentlemen, and let me go back to my old freedom; let me go look for my past life, and raise myself up from this present death. I was not born to be a governor or protect islands or cities from the enemies that choose to attack them. Ploughing and digging, vine-dressing and pruning, are more in my way than defending provinces or kingdoms. Saint Peter is very well at Rome ; I mean each of us is best following the trade he was born to. A reaping-hook fits my hand better than a governor's sceptre ; I'd rather have my fill of gazpacho than be subject to the misery of a meddling doctor who kills me with hunger, and I'd rather lie in summer under the shade of an oak, and in winter wrap myself in a double sheep-skin jacket in freedom, than go to bed between holland sheets and dress in sables under the restraint of a government. God be with your worships, and tell my lord the duke that "naked I was born, naked I find myself, I neither lose nor gain ;" I mean that without a farthing I came into this government, and without a farthing I go out of it, very different from the way governors commonly leave other islands. Stand aside and let me go.

In Bastiat's version, Sancho rejects Don Quixote's advice because he observes that neither the people nor the society they have created works like a machine which can be regulated by single ruler. He tells the people to "Do as you please", work in the fields, and trade their goods with each other. Sancho's view of the role of the state is the "nightwatchman" state as this speech he gave to the Baratarian Grand Assembly shows: [242]

Dieu vous a donné des terres ; cultivez-les, façonnez-en les produits. Échangez les uns avec les autres. Que ceux-ci labourent, que ceux-là tissent, que d’autres enseignent, plaident, guérissent, que chacun travaille selon son goût.	God has given you land. Cultivate it and produce crops from it. Exchange these with one another. Let some plough , others spin, still others teach, plead in court or cure illness; let each person work as he wishes.
Pour moi, mon devoir est de garantir à chacun ces deux choses : la liberté d’action, — la libre disposition des fruits de son travail.	For my part, my duty is to guarantee to all two things: freedom to act and the freedom to dispose the fruit of his work.
Je m’appliquerai constamment à réprimer, où qu’il se manifeste, le funeste penchant à vous dépouiller les uns les autres. Je vous donnerai à tous une entière sécurité. Chargez-vous du reste.	I will constantly endeavor to repress your disastrous inclination to rob each other, wherever this is evident. I will give all of you total security. The rest is up to you.
N’est-ce pas une chose absurde que vous me demandiez autre chose ? Que signifient ces monceaux de pétitions ? Si je les en croyais, tout le monde volerait tout le monde, à Barataria, — et cela par mon intermédiaire !… Je crois, au contraire, avoir pour mission d’empêcher que personne ne vole personne.	Is it not absurd for you to ask anything more from me? What do these piles of petitions mean? If I took them seriously, everyone would steal from everyone else in Barataria, and with my connivance! On the contrary, I believe that my mission is to prevent anyone from stealing from anyone else.
Baratariens, il y a bien de la différence entre ces deux systèmes. Si je dois être, suivant vous, l’instrument au moyen duquel tout le monde vole tout le monde, c’est comme si vous disiez que toutes vos propriétés m’appartiennent, que j’en puis disposer ainsi que de votre liberté. Vous n’êtes plus des hommes, vous êtes des brutes.	Baratarians, there is a great difference between these two systems. If in your view I am to be the instrument by means of which everyone steals from everyone else, it is as though you were saying that all of your property belongs to me, and that I can dispose of it as well as your freedom. You will no longer be men, but brutes.

Bastiat may well have seen himself as fighting similar battles as Don Quixote had done. In the article ES3 12 "The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions" (Dec. 1847) Bastiat describes the protagonist (i.e. himself) as "a new Don Quixote" who mounts his steed to do battle against Proudhon and his slogan "Property is Theft." The protagonist is armed with his own slogan "prices rise when and because things are scarce." [243]

Le prix s’élève quand et parce que la chose	PRICES RISE WHEN AND BECAUSE THINGS ARE SCARCE.
Fort de cette découverte, qui me vaudra au moins autant de célébrité que M. Proudhon en attend de sa fameuse formule : La propriété, c’est le vol, j’enfourchai, nouveau Don Quichotte, mon humble monture, et entrai en campagne.	With this discovery in my pocket, which ought to bring me as much fame as Mr. Proudhon expects from his famous formula: Property is theft, I mounted my humble steed like a new Don Quixote and went off to campaign.

Bastiat's depiction of Interventionist Dystopias

Whereas Bastiat had only one published essay on a liberal utopia he published several about interventionist dystopias. One of the more notable ones was ES2 13 “La protection ou les trois Échevins” (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) (c.1847) [244] which was in the form of a long play in four acts about an over-regulated Paris and its subsequent economic decline. Three magistrates in Paris decide that if protectionism is good for the country as a whole then protectionism for the industries within the city of Paris would also be a good thing. They persuade the citizens of Paris to support their plans and they impose comprehensive tariffs on all imported goods into the city. Bastiat makes an excellent joke with word-play by comparing the importation of cheap butter from "perfidious Normandy" with the importation into France as a whole of cheap textiles from "perfidious Albion" (England). Jacques Bonhomme and his son are forced to leave Paris as its industries go into decline and Jacques predicts a popular uprising in the near future as a result of the growing economic crisis (this was quite perceptive of Bastiat in 1847 as revolution did break out in February 1848 partly as a result of poor harvests in 1846-47). Some time later, Jacques returns to Paris to try to get support for his radical and revolutionary free trade ideas but is spurned by the people and threatened with hanging for his agitation against the municipal government. The "Démonstration en quatre tableau" (a demonstrationt in four scenes), as Bastiat calls his play, ends ambiguously with the people opposing Jacque's hanging but unsure about the policies he espouses.

A trope Bastiat commonly used in his writings was the "reductio ad absurdum" argument, where he took a typical argument in favour of protectionism, universalised it, thus pushing it to its absurd conclusion, and in the process creating a kind of absurdist economic dystopia. Good examples of this method are ES1 17 “Un chemin de fer négatif” (A Negative Railway) (c. 1845) [245] and ES2 16 “La main droite et la main gauche” (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) (December 1846). [246] In the very short but perceptive essay "A Negative Railway" Bastiat takes the argument in favour of forcing railway companies to make stops at certain towns in order to stimulate the local trans-shipping and hotel industries, universalises the principle into the idea that the railway should be forced to stop at every town along its path for the same reason, thus resulting in a railway journey that will never get to its final destination, but which will supposedly enrich everybody along the way. It is like "Groundhog Day" for the passengers, forever getting on and off the train and never being able to complete their journey.

In the essay "The Right Hand and the Left Hand" Bastiat takes the interventionist's idea that the true wealth of a nation can be measured by the amount of labour its people undertake (in our day, the number of "jobs" in the economy). It follows from this that, if a government wants to increase national prosperity, it should increase the amount of labour people have to do (increase the number of jobs). In the tale, an unnamed official presents a report to the King designed to counter the criticisms of protection being mounted by the free traders in the magazine Le Libre-Échange (which was edited and largely written by Bastiat). He urges the King to ban the use of his subjects' right hand in all economic activity in order to increase the amount of work which has to be done, and thus make the nation richer. This absurdity is quite consistent with the economic theory of the protectionists (or Keynesians in our own day, such as the government paying people to dig holes, then to fill them in again, or to build bridges to nowhere) and the story provides Bastiat with a number of opportunities to make amusing plays on words about how "gauche" the new system would be ("gauche" also means left), and how French society would eventually be divided into two opposing groups - the Sinistristes ( the "Left-Handers" - those who favour left-handed work, i.e. the protectionists) and the *Dextéristes (the Right-Handers", or les libres-dextéristes (free right-handers, i.e. the free traders). [247] If, after 20 years of being forced to use their left hands, the people become just as "dexterous" as they were before the ban on using their right hands, the King's advisor reassures the King that the state could invent further measures to increase the amount of labour required to produce things, such as banning the use of both hands and forcing the people to make things with their feet. The people are thus locked into an economic dystopia in which the government constantly thinks up new ways to make labour more onerous and difficult, all in the name of creating more national wealth by making people work more. Bastiat concludes the story with the cynical observation made by the advisor to the King, that such absurd interventionism in the economy which caused so much hardship for ordinary people was ultimately less important to the King than the fact that it and all other measures like it, increased his power.

Bastiat's dystopian vision has a number of similarities with Kurt Vonnegut's science fiction story "Harrison Bergeron" (October 1961) in which the government penalises clever people in the name of the equality of intellectual abilities by implanting a device in their heads which makes it difficult for them to think clearly. They are thus forced to live and act just like their less intellectually gifted fellows. [248]

Bastiat's Alter Ego: The French "everyman" Jacques Bonhomme comes alive during the Revolution

The First Appearance of "Jacques Bonhomme"

“Jacques Bonhomme” (literally Jack Goodman) is the name used by the French to refer to “everyman,” sometimes with the connotation that he is the archetype of the wily and stubborn but clever French peasant, and sometimes with the connotation that he was violent and unpredictable, like a "wild dog", who could rise up at a moment's notice and slaughter his social and political betters. The origins of the first name "Jacques" lay in the peasant uprisings which occurred during the 100 Years War (1337-1453) between France and England for control of northern France. Some peasants ("les Jacques") rebelled in May 1358 in a peasant uprising (jacquerie) and killed many nobles and their supporters. Bastiat would have been attracted to it as it was partly in reaction to the hardships caused by war such as taxes, requisitioning of food supplies for the armies, and the spread of disease. The source for the second name was the result of the popularity of the writings of Benjamin Franklin who was much admired in France in the late 18th century, especially his Poor Richard's Almanack which appeared annually between 1732 and 1758. It was translated into French as La science du bonhomme Richard (The Science of Poor Richard). The French economists were very interested in the ideas of Franklin and included a translation of a selection of his work in an anthology of other 18th century economic writings which were edited by Bastiat's younger friend and colleague Gustave de Molinari in 1847. [249]

In England at this time the phrase used to refer to the average Englishman was “John Bull”; in the late 19th and early 20th century English judges used to refer to “the man on the Clapham Omnibus” to refer to the average British citizen with common sense; a more colloquial contemporary American expression for the average man would be the typical consumer who lives in Peoria, IL. or “Joe Six Pack” the typical basketball or football fan. The opposite of the clever Jacques Bonhomme (Jack Goodman) figure was the stupid and slow learning Gros-Jean (Big or Fat John). Gros-Jean is quite stupid and does not learn from his mistakes. He was popularized by La Fontaine and quoted by Bastiat in ES2 1 “Physiologie de la Spoliation” (The Physiology of Plunder). After daydreaming about how she will spend the money she has not yet earned at the markets, Perrette spills her pail of milk and ends up with nothing. She concludes the story by saying "I am Gros-Jean just like before." [250]

It is possible that Bastiat thought to use the figure of Jacques Bonhomme as a character in his economic essays as a result of conversations with Molinari as he was engaged in editorial work on the anthology of 18th century economic writing (including Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac) during 1846 (the volume was published sometime in 1847). Bastiat used the character of Jacques Bonhomme for the first time in dialogues in four essays in the second series of Economic Sophisms (published Jan. 1848 but some of which were written as early as mid-1846) as a foil to criticise protectionists and advocates of government regulation. In other words, Bastiat took this stock character of French popular culture and eventually turned him into a spokesman for his own free market views. The first dated instance was in ES2 12 “Le sel, la poste et la douane” (Salt, the Mail, and the Customs Service) which appeared in the Journal des Économistes (May 1846). [251] Here Bastiat reports a conversation between Jacques Bonhomme and his English counterpart John Bull on postal reform. A radical reform of the British postal system had been introduced in 1841 with the Universal Penny Post. Jacques Bonhomme is at first sceptical about how it would work in France but John Bull convinces him sufficiently to induce Jacques Bonhomme to write a letter to the Deputy who chaired the Chamber Committee looking into postal reform offering to take over the French Postal System, introduce English style reforms and still make a profit for the French state.

Jacques Bonhomme makes an appearance in three other sophisms which are undated but probably written sometime in late 1846 or 1847 before they were published in ES2 (Jan. 1848). They were ES2 3 "Les deux haches" (The Two Axes), [252] ES2 10 “Le percepteur” (The Tax Collector), [253] and ES2 13 “La protection ou les trois Échevins” (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates). [254] In "The Two Axes" Jacques Bonhomme, who describes himself as "a carpenter like Jesus", writes to the protectionist Minister of Trade, Mr. Cunin-Gridaine, asking him for protection for his industry like the textile manufacturers get for theirs. His solution is to get the Minister to pass a law requiring all carpentry work in France be done with blunt axes in order to increase the amount of labour needed to do any job. In content and style it is very similar to Bastiat's absurdist story of the ES2 16 “La main droite et la main gauche” (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) (December 1846) which is discussed in more detail below. [255]

A much more elaborate and clever use of Jacques Bonhomme is made in ES2.10 “Le percepteur” (The Tax Collector) where Bastiat creates a two-part dialogue between Jacques Bonhomme who is a wine producer and Mr. Blockhead who is a tax collector. The name of the Tax Collector is a typical example of Bastiat's mocking word play. The man's name in French is "M. Lasouche" and since “la souche” means a tree stump, log, or stock we thought “Mr. Blockhead” might be an appropriate translation to use here. What follows is a clever and quite sophisticated discussion of the nature of political representation and the legitimacy of those political "representatives" to tax people. Jacques Bonhomme asks such clever questions that it ties Mr. Blockhead up in knots and he finds it hard to explain in a coherent way why he does what he does. In the course of the conversation Bastiat also has Jacques Bonhomme introduce a key component of the radically new economic theory he was working on which would appear in Economic Harmonies, namely the idea of exchange as "a service for a service". [256] Jacques Bonhomme is suggesting to the tax collector that very little, if anything at all (even the military), provided by the state in return for the taxes they are paid is a "service". The radically anti-statist implications of this idea are obvious.

The fourth example of Bastiat's use of Jacques Bonhomme before the outbreak of the 1848 Revolution is ES2.13 “La protection ou les trois Échevins” (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates). [257] This story is the most elaborate play which Bastiat wrote and included four separate acts with dialog and action on the part of many characters, or what Bastiat termed "a staged argument in four scenes." After the economic health of Paris has been destroyed by three protectionist magistrates thus forcing Jacques Bonhomme to flee to find work elsewhere, Jacques Bonhomme returns to inspire the people of Paris to force the politicians to abolish protectionism and to reintroduce economic liberty. Jacques Bonhomme has now become a revolutionary free market advocate who engages the three protectionist magistrates in debates but is ultimately unable to persuade them or the people of Paris to abandon protectionism.

Bastiat becomes Jacques Bonhomme in the Revolution

These four stories involving Jacques Bonhomme were published in ES2 which appeared sometime in January 1848, just before the February Revolution of 1848 overthrew the July Monarchy and began the Second Republic. During the course of 1848 it seems that Bastiat increasingly assumed the identity of Jacques Bonhomme in his popular writing. Instead of inserting pieces of dialog between Bastiat and other characters in a story which was clearly framed by an external author (i.e. Bastiat the economic journalist) the stories gradually became complete articles written by "Jacques Bonhomme" and addressed directly to "the people" who were engaged in the revolutionary struggle in the streets of Paris. We see this briefly in a couple of very short articles by "Jacques Bonhomme" in Bastiat's free trade journal Le Libre-Échange just before it closed down for good in the face of the revolution. [258] They were described as "petites fiches de Jacques Bonhomme" which could mean flyers which could be handed out in the streets to passers-by or posters which were designed to be plastered on the walls of Paris. [259] They were written and handed out on the streets of Paris on or just before March 12, 1848, only two weeks after the fall of the Monarchy and the proclamation of the Second Republic and when key policies of the new state were being discussed by the Provisional Government.

In ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People), [260] Bastiat speaks directly to "the People" using the familiar "tu" form but inserts an aside where he speaks as Jacques Bonhomme:

Peuple, On te dit : « Tu n’as pas assez pour vivre ; que l’État y ajoute ce qui manque. » Qui ne le voudrait, si cela était possible ?=	People, You are being told: “You have not enough to live on; let the State add what is missing.” Who would not wish for this if it were possible?
Mais, hélas ! La caisse du percepteur n’est pas l’urne de Cana.	But alas, the tax collector’s coffers are not the wine pitcher of Cana.
Quand notre seigneur mettait un litre de vin dans cette urne, il en sortait deux ; mais quand tu mets cent sous dans la caisse du buraliste, il n’en sort pas dix francs ; il n’en sort même pas cent sous, car le buraliste en garde quelques-uns pour lui.	When Our Lord put one liter of wine in this pitcher, two came out, but when you put one hundred sous in the coffers of the tax collector, ten francs do not emerge; not even one hundred sous come out, since the collector keeps a few for himself.
Comment donc ce procédé augmenterait-il ton travail ou ton salaire ?	How then does this procedure increase your work or your wages?
Ce qu’on te conseille se réduit à ceci : Tu donneras cinq francs à l’État contre rien, et l’État te donnera quatre francs contre ton travail. Marché de dupe.	The advice being given to you can be summed up as follows: You will give the State five francs in return for nothing and the State will give you four francs in return for your work. An exchange for dupes.
Peuple, comment l’État pourra-t-il te faire vivre, puisque c’est toi qui fait vivre l’État ?	People, how can the State keep you alive, since it is you who are keeping the State alive?
Voilà le mécanisme des ateliers de charité réduits en système. FN: Jacques Bonhomme n’entend pas critiquer les mesures d’urgence.	Here are the mechanics of charity workshops presented systematically … (aside: Jacques Bonhomme does not mean to criticize emergency measures.)

In ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) Bastiat as Jacques Bonhomme again speaks to the people warning them that they are being duped by socialist promises that the workers can be made better off by paying them subsidies out of the taxes they are paying. In a very clear reference to Molière's hatred of quack doctors and bleeding patients Bastiat through his alter ego Jacques states (I quote the speech in full): [261]

Quand notre frère souffre, il faut le soulager.	When our brother suffers we must come to his aid.
Mais ce n’est pas la bonté de l’intention qui fait la bonté [ii-461] de la potion. On peut très-charitablement donner un remède qui tue.	However, it is not the goodness of the intention that makes the goodness of the medicine. A mortal remedy can be given in all charity.
Un pauvre ouvrier était malade ; le docteur arrive, lui tâte le pouls, lui fait tirer la langue et lui dit : Brave homme, vous n’êtes pas assez nourri. — Je le crois, dit le moribond ; j’avais pourtant un vieux médecin fort habile. Il me donnait les trois quarts d’un pain tous les soirs. Il est vrai qu’il m’avait pris le pain tout entier le matin, et en avait gardé le quart pour ses honoraires. Je l’ai chassé, voyant que ce régime ne me guérissait pas. — L’ami, mon confrère était un ignorant intéressé. Il ne voyait pas que votre sang est appauvri. Il faut réorganiser cela. Je vais vous introduire du sang nouveau dans le bras gauche ; pour cela il faudra que je vous le tire du bras droit. Mais pourvu que vous ne teniez aucun compte ni du sang qui sortira du bras droit ni de celui qui se perdra dans l’opération, vous trouverez ma recette admirable.	A poor worker was ill. The doctor arrived, took his pulse, made him stick out his tongue and said to him: “Good man, you are undernourished.” “I think so too,” said the dying man, “however, I did have an old doctor who was very skilled. He gave me three-quarters of a loaf of bread each evening. It is true that he took the whole loaf from me each morning and kept a quarter of it as his fee. I turned him away when I saw that this regime was not curing me.” “My friend and colleague was an ignorant man who thought only of his own interest. He did not see that your blood was anemic. This has to be reorganized. I am going to transfuse some new blood in your left arm and to do this I have to take it out of your right arm. But provided that you take no account either of the blood that comes out of your right arm or the blood that will be lost during the operation, you will find my remedy admirable.”
Voilà où nous en sommes. L’État dit au peuple :	This is the position we are in. The State tells the people:
« Tu n’as pas assez de pain, je vais t’en donner. Mais comme je n’en fais pas, je commencerai par te le prendre, et, après avoir satisfait mon appétit, qui n’est pas petit, je te ferai gagner le reste. »	“You do not have enough bread; I will give you some. But since I do not make any, I will begin by taking it from you and when I have satisfied my appetite, which is not small, I will make you earn the rest.”
« Tu n’as pas assez de pain, je vais t’en donner. Mais comme je n’en fais pas, je commencerai par te le prendre, et, après avoir satisfait mon appétit, qui n’est pas petit, je te ferai gagner le reste. »	“You do not have enough bread; I will give you some. But since I do not make any, I will begin by taking it from you and when I have satisfied my appetite, which is not small, I will make you earn the rest.”
Ou bien :	Or else:
« Tu n’as pas assez de salaires ; paye-moi plus d’impôts. J’en distribuerai une partie à mes agents, et avec le surplus, je te ferai travailler. »	“Your earnings are not high enough, pay me more tax. I will distribute part to my agents and with the surplus, I will set you to work.”
Et si le peuple, n’ayant des yeux que pour le pain qu’on lui donne, perd de vue celui qu’on lui prend ; si, voyant le petit salaire que la taxe lui procure, il ne voit pas le gros salaire qu’elle lui ôte, on peut prédire que sa maladie s’aggravera.	And if the people have eyes only for the bread being given to them and lose sight of the bread being taken away from them; if they can see the small wage which taxes provide but don't see the large part of their wage which taxes take away, then we can predict that their illness will become more serious.

It is clear that Bastiat here in March was already thinking along the lines of his theory of the "The State" which would appear again in a draft form in June when Jacques Bonhomme the man would offer his readers a money prize for the best definition of the State. [262]

After the closure of his free trade journal Le Libre-Échange [263] and his street magazine La République française [264] Bastiat got distracted campaigning for election and then taking his seat in the new Constituent Assembly where he served as Vice-President of the Chamber's Finance Committee where he struggled to cut taxes and government spending. Jacques Bonhomme disappeared until June when he was resurrected not just as a character or voice for Bastiat's free market ideas but as his own revolutionary street magazine, appropriately named Jacques Bonhomme. [265] In the four issues which were published the articles are written as if Jacques Bonhomme was an eyewitness who was reporting on what he had seen on the streets, and commenting on political events as if he were a worker like all the other "Jacques Bonhommes" who were marching, protesting, and rioting against the troops.

The articles which appear in the four issues of the street magazine Jacques Bonhomme are written from a rather strange perspective; they are partly in the first person of "Jacques" and partly in the third person where it is reported what Jacques thinks, has seen, or has done. Sometimes an unidentified third party asks Jacques what he thinks and it is reported what he says as if he were being directly quoted. Jacques appears to be a living person who is an eyewitness to the events of February and March 1848, but also seems to be the personification of the French people as he relates his experiences of suffering under various governments throughout history and his participation in several previous French Revolutions. Here is the opening article in the first issue where he relates his history and gives an account of his origins: [266]

Histoire de Jacques Bonhomme.	The hitory of Jacques Bonhomme.
Comment est venue à Jacques Bonhomme l’idée écrire un journal.	How it happened that Jacques Bonhomme got the idea to write a newspaper.
Et d’abord Jacques Bonhomme vous dira qui il est et pourquoi on l’a baptisé du nom de Jacques Bonhomme … (p. 13)	To begin Jacques Bonhomme will tell you who he is and why he was given (baptised) with the name of Jacques Bonhomme.

As in the past, he says, Jacques is under great pressure from his friends to take up arms to fight against the ruling elites again, but he is reluctant to pick up his rifle because he realises the great costs of using violence to change the world. This time he urges his friends to inform themselves about the principles of political economy so they can understand the debates which are going on in the Assembly over taxes and the budget. The introduction to Jacques Bonhomme concludes with the speaker (Bastiat presumably) urging the readers to listen to what Jacques "un démocrate de la vieille souche" (a democrat of the old school (from the original branch or stock)) has to say about economics: [267]

Ayant fait ces réflexions, Jacques Bonhomme se mit à étudier le budget de la république et à lire des livres d’économie politique ; de tout cela, il retira grand fruit ; il commença à voir jour dans les affaires, et voulant que tout le monde y pût voir comme lui, il se mit à raconter ce qu’il avait appris.	After having made these observations Jacques Bonhomme set himself to studying the budget of the Republic and reading books on political economy. From this he drew great benefit. He began to see the light in these matters, and wishing that the whole world would see things the way he did, he put himself to telling people what he had learned.
Maintenant, mes chers amis, prêtez attention, je vous prie, aux discours de Jacques Bonhomme. C’est un homme de bonne humeur et de bon esprit, un démocrate de la vieille souche, et, grands et petits, vous aurez tous profit à l’écouter. (p. 18)	Now my dear friends, pay attention I ask you, to the words of Jacques Bonhomme. He is a man of good humour and good spirits, a democrat of the old school, and whether yiou are young or old you will it will all profit from listening to him.

It should be noted that in these passages "Jacques Bonhomme" is using the language Bastiat created to express his idea of "the seen' and "the unseen" which is a central component of his economic theory. [268]

What follows in the magazine are several short pieces by Jacques speaking in the first person on "La Liberté" and "Laissez-faire" which is followed by a series of questions put to "Maître Jacques" about the activities of the National Assembly, and the first draft of Bastiat's essay on "The State."

In "La Liberté" (Freedom) Jacques in the first person states: [269]

J’ai beaucoup vécu, beaucoup vu, observé, comparé, étudié, et je sais arrivé à cette conclusion :	I have lived a long time, seen a great deal, observed much, compared and examined many things, and I have reached the following conclusion:
« Nos pères avaient raison de vouloir être LIBRES, et nous devons le vouloir aussi.»	Our fathers were right to wish to be free, and we should also wish this.
Ce n’est pas que la liberté n’ait des inconvénients ; tout en a Arguer contre elle de ces inconvénients, c’est dire à un homme qui est dans le bourbier : N’en sortez pas, car vous ne le pouvez sans quelque effort. …	It is not that freedom has no disadvantages, since everything has these. To use these disadvantages in argument against it is to say to a man trapped in the mire: Do not get out, as you cannot do this without some effort…
Un peuple a deux manières de se procurer une chose : la première, c’est de la faire ; la seconde, c’est d’en faire une autre et de la troquer. Il vaut certainement mieux avoir l’option que de ne l’avoir pas. Exigeons donc la liberté de l’échange.	A people has two ways of procuring something. The first is to make it; the second is to make something else and trade it. It is certainly better to have the option than not to have it. Let us therefore demand the freedom to trade.
Je me mêle aux débats publics, je m’efforce de pénétrer dans la foule pour prêcher toutes les libertés dont l’ensemble forme la liberté.	I am throwing myself into public debate; I am trying to get through to the crowd to preach all the freedoms, the total of which make up liberty.

In "Laissez-faire", again speaking in the first person, Jacques provides a brief definition of what it is and why socialists object to it: [270]

Laissez faire ! — Je commence par dire, pour prévenir tonte équivoque, que laissez faire s’applique ici aux choses honnêtes, l’État étant institué précisément pour empêcher les choses déshonnêtes.	Laissez-faire! I will begin by saying, in order to avoid any ambiguity, that laissez-faire is used here for honest things, with the state instituted precisely to prevent dishonest things.
Cela posé, et quant aux choses innocentes par elles-mêmes, comme le travail, l’échange, l’enseignement, l’association, la banque, etc., il faut pourtant opter. Il faut que l’État laisse faire ou empêche de faire.	This having been said, and with regard to things that are innocent in themselves, such as work, trade, teaching, association, banking, etc., a choice must be made. It is necessary for the state to let things be done or prevent them from being done.
S’il laisse faire, nous serons libres et économiquement administrés, rien ne coûtant moins que de laisser faire.	If it lets things be done, we will be free and optimally administered most economically, since nothing costs less than laissez-faire.
S’il empêche de faire, malheur à notre liberté et à notre bourse. À notre liberté, puisqu’empêcher c’est lier les bras : à notre bourse, car pour empêcher, il faut des agents, et pour avoir des agents, il faut de l’argent.	If it prevents things from being done, woe to our freedom and our purse. Woe to our freedom, since to prevent things is to tie our hands; woe to our purse, since to prevent things requires agents and to employ agents takes money.
À cela les socialistes disent : Laissez faire ! mais c’est une horreur ! — Et pourquoi, s’il vous plaît? — Parce que, quand on les laisse faire, les hommes font mal et agissent contre leurs intérêts. Il est bon que l’État les dirige.	In reply to this, socialists say: “Laissez-faire! What a disaster!” Why, if you please? “Because, when you leave men to act, they do wrong and act against their interests. It is right for the state to direct them.”
Voilà qui est plaisant. Quoi ! vous avez une telle foi dans la sagacité humaine que vous voulez le suffrage universel et le gouvernement de tous par tous ; et puis, ces mêmes hommes que vous jugez aptes à gouverner les autres, vous les proclamez inaptes à se gouverner eux-mêmes !	This is simply absurd. Do you seriously have such faith in human wisdom that you want universal suffrage and government of all by all and then you proclaim these very men whom you consider fit to govern others unfit to govern themselves?

In "L'État" an unidentified person (but probably Jacques) lists all the things which the people now want the State to do in the new Republic and notes that all these things have to be paid for by taxes, and wonders where the taxes are going to come from. He does not answer but says that the magazine Jacques Bonhomme is offering a prize of Fr. 50,000 for the best definition of the STATE his readers can come up with: [271]

Jacques Bonhomme fonde un prix de cinquante mille francs à décerner à celui qui donnera une bonne définition de ce mot, l’ÉTAT ; car celui-là sera le sauveur des finances, de l’industrie, du commerce et du travail. (p. 25)

Jacques Bonhomme is sponsoring a prize of fifty thousand francs to be given to anyone who provides a good definition of the word state, for that person will be the savior of finance, industry, trade, and work.

In the second issue 15-18 June, Jacques the person declares that he is so impatient with the Assembly for taking so long to agree upon a new constitution for the Republic that he threatens to stand outside the building where they are meeting and shout his protests as loud as he can (the French also suggests that he would stick up his posters on the walls surrounding the building): [272]

Jacques Bonhomme attend la Constitution avec impatience.	Jacques Bonhomme waits for the Constitution with impatience.
Si Jacques Bonhomme n’avait pas peur de passer pour factieux, il irait se poster sur une des bornes qui avoisinent la chambre où l’Assemblée nationale tient ses séances, et là, il ferait chorus à lui tout seul, il crierait de manière à être entendu des Représentants : La Constitution ! la Constitution ! faites-nous bien vite la Constitution !	If Jacques Bonhomme hadn't been afraid of appearing rebellious he would go and stick up posters on one of the fences around the building where the National Assembly conducts its sessions, and there all by himslef he could sing out, cry out so that all the elected Representatives could hear" The Constitution! The Constitution! Hurry up with the Constitution !

Also in the second issue Jacques (again speaking in the first person) complains that the people are like Molière's quack doctors in Le malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid, or the Hypocondriac) (1673) who always call for the same false cures for any ailment. Now the French people are calling for yet more government spending and regulation to cure their problems and will thus face the same disappointment as they have always had in the past: [273]

Si maladia
Opiniatria
Non vult se guarire,
Quid illi facere ?
— Purgare, saignare, clysterisare,
Repurgare, resaignare, reclysterisare. (p. 51)

The original passage from the play can be roughly translated as:

Fifth Doctor: But of the illness, in your opinion, is not cured? What would you do?

The student doctor Bachelierus: Give an injection, then bleed him, afterwards purge him. Then bleed him again, purge him again, and inject him again.

So it appears that for the four or five weeks of the magazine's existence in June 1848 Bastiat had become the fictional character "Jacques Bonhomme" and that fiction had come to life, or at least temporarily.

The Death and Resurrection of Jacques Bonhomme in "The Broken Window"

Jacques Bonhomme, both the character in Bastiat's stories and the magazine, then disappears again for two years as Bastiat engages fully in his parliamentary work and his anti-socialist pamphleteering until he re-emerges in the last work Bastiat was to publish before his death in December 1850, the extended pamphlet What is Seen and What is Not Seen (July 1850). [274] Jacques Bonhomme appears in six of the 12 essays but has a starring role in his most famous appearance in chapter 1 "The Broken Window" [275] where Bastiat, using the voice of Jacques Bonhomme, gives a masterly demonstration of one of his key theoretical innovations, the idea of opportunity cost. But Jacques Bonhomme has returned to his former role as the smart French "everyman" who acts a foil for Bastiat in his withering critiques of protectionism and other forms of intervention.

Bastiat's' Invention of his Own Economic Stories II: "Crusoe Economics"↩

Introduction

A survey of classic texts going back to the 17th century show numerous very general references to men as "natural man," the "savage," the "isolated individual", the man in the "state of nature", the European colonizer or settler, and so on, but none until the mid-19th century makes any systematic effort to use "Crusoe economics" to examine human action in the abstract for the purpose of grounding their very theory of economics. The first to do this was Frédéric Bastiat in several essays and in his incomplete magnum opus Economic Harmonies which appeared between 1847 and 1850.

Modern readers of economics do not find it strange when an economist uses "thought experiments" (Gedankenbild) to help simplify and clarify complex economic arguments. [276] Members of the Austrian school resort to this process as a matter of course because it helps them establish the logic of "human action" (praxeology) which every economic actor must face when making decisions about what to produce or what to exchange.

Before going into details about Bastiat's use of the story of Robinson Crusoe in the exposition of his more general economic views I should say something about Ludwig von Mises' view of what praxeology is so that we might better assess how close Bastiat comes to this theory of human action in the passages I will be quoting below. In the Introduction to volume one of Human Action Mises defines praxeology as "the general theory of human action" or "the science of every kind of human action". As a very general theory of human action it includes within its purview other sub-disciplines like history or economics or sociology. Mises states: [277]

For a long time men failed to realize that the transition from the classical theory of value to the subjective theory of value was much more than the substitution of a more satisfactory theory of market exchange for a less satisfactory one. The general theory of choice and preference goes far beyond the horizon which encompassed the scope of economic problems as circumscribed by the economists from Cantillon, Hume, and Adam Smith down to John Stuart Mill. It is much more than merely a theory of the “economic side” of human endeavors and of man’s striving for commodities and an improvement in his material well-being. It is the science of every kind of human action. Choosing determines all human decisions. In making his choice man chooses not only between various material things and services. All human values are offered for option. All ends and all means, both material and ideal issues, the sublime and the base, the noble and the ignoble, are ranged in a single row and subjected to a decision which picks out one thing and sets aside another. Nothing that men aim at or want to avoid remains outside of this arrangement into a unique scale of gradation and preference. The modern theory of value widens the scientific horizon and enlarges the field of economic studies. Out of the political economy of the classical school emerges the general theory of human action, praxeology. The economic or catallactic problems are embedded in a more general science, and can no longer be served from this connection. No treatment of economic problems proper can avoid starting from acts of choice; economics becomes a part, although the hitherto best elaborated part, of a more universal science, praxeology.

Bastiat found it helpful to make use of the fictional figure of Robinson Crusoe shipwrecked on the Island of Despair in his thought experiments to show how Crusoe "acts" in order to achieve his goals. Given Bastiat's taste for literature and his knowledge of English it is quite possible that Bastiat read Defoe's novel The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Marriner (1719) in the original early in his career. [278] He would also have had access to one of the several translations into French – one in 1817, one in 1827, one in 1836, and one in 1837. The translation which appeared in 1836 was by the romantic writer Pétrus Borel who wrote under the nom de plume of “Wolfman” several stories of whose were published in the journal Le Commerce, which may have brought him to Bastiat’s attention. [279] The translation of 1837 was by the poet Mme Amable Tastu (1798-1885) and included a glowing essay on Dafoe by the economist Louis Reybaud who was known to Bastiat. [280] Reybaud did not directly discuss the economic aspects of the Crusoe story but instead focused on the political and moral aspects of Dafoe’s interesting and varied life. This makes Bastiat’s use of the economic predicament of Robinson Crusoe as an aid to thinking about economic decision making even more remarkable for its originality.

Bastiat is one of the first (perhaps even the first) economist to make extensive use of "Crusoe economics" in his elaboration of the fundamentals of free market economics. In a search of other works of economic for references to "Robinson Crusoe" in works written before Bastiat in 1847 we find that there are no references at all in the works of Adam Smith, in J.B. Say's Treatise on Political Economy, or the works of David Ricardo. There are only single references scattered across the writings of economists who were writing in the 1810s, 1820s and 1830s, such as Jeremy Bentham, Jane Marcet, Thomas Babbington Macaulay, Richard Whately, and Thomas Hodgskin and none of them uses the Robinson Crusoe analogy to express serious economic ideas. In the case of Richard Whately (1831), he firmly rejected the use of Crusoe in any discussion of the nature of political economy because in his view the study of economics was the study of "exchanges" and, since Crusoe did not engage in any exchanges, he was "in a situation of which Political-Economy takes no cognizance." [281] As we have seen in the examples from Bastiat's works, issues of economizing and opportunity costs are amenable to discussion using Crusoe "thought experiments" and of course exchange does enter the picture when Friday is introduced.

There are of course references in economic writing to "the isolated man" or the "primitive" or "savage" man who has some similarities to Robinson Crusoe. Most economists would fairly quickly pass over this individual or the economic stage this individual represented (hunting and gathering) in order to discuss what they thought were the more important issues of the division of labour which could only take place in a "society", the exchange of goods with others (catallaxy), and the "higher stages" of economic development where tools (capital) had already been acquired. The Marxists could have been, but were not, interested in how an individual like Robinson Crusoe originally acquired capital (something Bastiat was keen to show could and was done without violating the rights of other individuals) because they assumed that capital accumulation only took place when one group of people (the capitalist class) "exploited" the labour of another group of people (the slave or industrial working class).]

The twist Bastiat gave to his method of analysis, to his early version of praxeology as it were, was to look into his literary bag of tricks and pull out an appropriate character who would serve his purpose. In this case it was the literary figure of Robinson Crusoe from Daniel Dafoe's 1719 novel. As he so often did, he took someone else's character, in this case a rather stern and authoritarian protestant Englishman, and turned him into the archetypical "acting" and "choosing" man who could serve as a foil to his criticism of the sophisms of the protectionists and advocates of state subsidies to "national industry." Being the wit he was Bastiat put the ideas of the protectionists into the mouth of the supposedly "civilized" Crusoe and the ideas of the free traders into the supposedly "savage" Friday.

So the fictional figure of Robinson Crusoe who was shipwrecked on the Island of Despair became a central character in his thought experiments to show how an individual goes about making choices about how best to "act" in order to achieve the goals they have set, identifying the obstacles which need to be overcome in order to achieve some level of prosperity, the ranking of his preferences according to their urgency, the opportunity costs of using one’s time on one task rather than another, the need to deprive himself of some comforts now in order to accumulate some savings to allow future activities, and (when Friday and visitors from other islands appear on the scene) the benefits of the division of labor and the nature of comparative advantage in trade.

The relative simplicity of the choices Crusoe had to make (first just one person and then two with the arrival of Friday) makes this a useful device for economists to use when making “thought experiments” to illustrate basic economic principles. Crusoe stories, in other words what I call "Crusoe economics", would play an important role in Economic Harmonies where there are six such stories. There are also references to a related notion, that of "l’homme isolé” (the man living in isolation or alone), of which I count 35 instances in his Oeuvres complètes, mostly in his treatise Economic Harmonies or the JDE articles which became chapters in Economic Harmonies. Before the publication of Economic Harmonies I have counted five references to Crusoe which I discuss below.

I think Bastiat originally may well have thought of using references to Robinson Crusoe just as he had done with references to Molière or Béranger, as simple but amusing ways to illustrate his economic arguments. During the course of 1847 Bastiat began thinking he had something interesting to say about economic theory and began giving lectures on economics at the Athénée sometime in the late summer of fall of 1847. These lectures were to form the basis of his unfinished treatise on economics Economic Harmonies (1850, 1851). I suspect that as he was working on his theoretical treatise he came to see the power that the Crusoe/Friday story provided for gaining insights into the nature of economic reasoning itself and not just as a way to illustrate it cleverly for the general reader. Bastiat therefore made the intellectual leap to inventing a more abstract way of thinking about economic decision making, what we might call "praxeological Crusoe economics" which was based upon a literary and possibly historical character (the Scot Alexander Selkirk).

This intellectual leap by Bastiat would not be recognized until 110 years after his death when the Austrian economist Murray Rothbard used "Crusoe economics" as the foundation for his treatise on economics, Man, Economy and State (1962) and duly recognized Bastiat's pioneering contributions. In the Preface Rothbard makes the thought experiment of "Crusoe economics" the foundation upon which he places his entire economic edifice: [282]

The present work deduces the entire corpus of economics from a few simple and apodictically true axioms: the Fundamental Axiom of action—that men employ means to achieve ends, and two subsidiary postulates: that there is a variety of human and natural resources, and that leisure is a consumers’ good. Chapter 1 begins with the action axiom and deduces its immediate implications; and these conclusions are applied to “Crusoe economics”—that much maligned but highly useful analysis that sets individual man starkly against Nature and analyzes his resulting actions. Chapter 2 introduces other men and, consequently, social relations.

Thus, according to Rothbard at least, Bastiat's discovery of a praxeolgical version of "Crusoe economics" not only helped found a key aspect of the modern Austrian school of economics, namely Misesian "praxeology", but also helped him (Rothbard) more clearly work out the moral and political ideas which lay behind his theory of property rights, the non-aggression axiom, and anarcho-capitalism. [283]

I believe that Bastiat’s extensive use of “Crusoe economics” between 1847 and 1850 may well be an original contribution to economic reasoning.

Prior to the publication of Economic Harmonies

Bastiat's first reference to Crusoe is in an article "Organisation et liberté" (Organisation and Liberty) (JDE, Jan. 1847) [284] where he criticizes the views of the socialist François Vidal expressed in the magazine La Presse. [285] Vidal had written a book De la repartition des richesses, ou de la justice distributive en économie sociale (On the Distribution of Wealth, or Distributive Justice in Social Economy) (1846) and would later serve as secretary of the Luxembourg Commission under Louis Blanc which managed the National Workshops after the February Revolution of 1848. In the La Presse articles Vidal had attacked the liberals as being "individualists" who had no concern for "society" or the "organisations" and "associations" which he believed were an essential part of the structure of society and the economy. Bastiat thought this criticism was based upon a commonly believed "sophism" (not one previously identified by Bastiat or written about) that the ideal state for the liberals and economists is the man living in complete isolation from his fellow creatures (i.e. "individualism"). It is Vidal who mentions Crusoe by name here and which Bastiat quotes in turn. Bastiat however is merely responding to him by saying that man is always in a social state and quotes J.B. Say, Charles Comte, and Charles Dunoyer in support. [286]

… protester avec énergie contre l’attribution d’une doctrine qui, non-seulement n’est pas la nôtre, mais que nous combattons systématiquement [ii-156] comme nos devanciers l’ont combattue, doctrine qu’exclut le mot même économie politique, économie du corps social. …	… (I) protest with great energy the claim that I believe in a doctrin which, not only is not ours but which which we have systematically fought against as have our predessors, a doctrin which excludes the very word "economy" from political economy, "economy" of the social body …
M. Vidal nous ferait presque douter qu’il eût jamais [ii-157] ouvert un livre d’économie politique, car ils ne sont autre chose que la réfutation méthodique de ce sophisme que M. Vidal leur impute.	M. Vidal makes us almost doubt that he has ever opened a book on political economy, because they are nother other than the methodical refutation of the sophism which M. Vidal attributes to them.

Bastiat's own first use occurs in an unpublished piece written a bit later that year ES3 16 “Midi à quatorze heures” (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) (c. 1847) [287] in which Bastiat tells us why the Crusoe stories are so important to the "good" economist (in bold), namely that we see come into view the "essence" of economics in its simplest form. Crusoe is a character introduced in the essay by the defender of free trade who is in the middle of a long argument with a protectionist. The context of the discussion is the impact of the Treaty of Methuen which was a commercial treaty between England and Portugal signed in 1703 during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). It allowed for the free entry of English textiles into Portugal and was accused by protectionists of having caused a decline in the Portuguese economy. Bastiat uses Crusoe as a stand-in for "Portugal" in an argument with a French protectionist to show how Crusoe would benefit from trade, just as Portugal did after its economy was exposed to British competition after the signing of the Treaty. Bastiat begins by giving a concise explanation of how he plans to use the Crusoe character to make his economic points, which suggests that this outline was the first one to use the Crusoe character in the elaboration of "Crusoe economics": [288]

Courons à l’île du pauvre naufragé. Regardons-le agir. Scrutons et le mobile, et la fin, et les conséquences de ses actes. Nous n’y apprendrons pas tout, ni spécialement ce qui concerne la répartition de la richesse au sein d’une société nombreuse ; mais nous y verrons poindre les faits primordiaux. Nous y observerons les lois générales dans leur action la plus simple ; et l’économie politique est là en germe. p. 403

Let us run off to the island to see the poor shipwrecked sailor. Let us see him in action. Let us examine the motives, the purpose, and the consequences of his actions. We will not learn everything there, in particular not those things that relate to the distribution of wealth in a society of many people, but we will glimpse the basic facts. We will observe general laws in their simplest form of action, and political economy is there in essence.

Faisons à quelques problèmes seulement l’application de cette méthode.

Let us apply this method to just a few problems.

This explanation shows some of the benefits using of "Crusoe economics" to explain economic ideas. It is useful for simplifying an examination of an individual's motives and purposes in taking certain actions, and then in assessing the consequences of those actions. By abstracting the single individual economic actor away from the crowd the observer can begin to figure out "les lois générales dans leur action la plus simple ; et l’économie politique est là en germe" (general laws in their simplest form of action, and political economy is there in essence). Once this thought process has taken place and the method applied to just enough simple problems so the principles can be understood, they then can be applied to more complex economic arrangements where many people are involved.

Bastiat begins his discussion of Crusoe by looking at his attempts to catch fish, grow vegetables, and clothe himself alone on the island. Being a good European he expands his production by making a net (a "tool" or a "machine") which he does successfully by sacrificing his leisure time. A trade prohibitionist who is also part of the discussion fears that if visitors come to the island wanting to trade clothes Crusoe would be made worse off. In the Crusoe "thought experiment" the visitors take the place of "the English" who were permitted to trade their cheaper clothing in the Portuguese market under the Treaty of Methuen. Bastiat outlines Crusoe's thinking in agreeing to trade his vegetables for "foreign" clothes: [289]

— Est-ce que nous pourrions étudier aussi le traité de Méthuen dans l’île du Désespoir ?

"Would we also be able to study the Treaty of Methuen on the Island of Despair?"

— Pourquoi pas ? Allons y faire une promenade… Voyez : Robinson est occupé à se faire des habits pour se garantir du froid et de la pluie. Il regrette un peu le temps qu’il y consacre ; car il faut manger aussi, et son jardin réclame tous ses soins. Mais voici qu’une pirogue aborde l’île. L’étranger qui en descend montre à Robinson des habits bien chauds et propose de les céder contre quelques légumes, en offrant de continuer à l’avenir ce marché. Robinson regarde d’abord si l’étranger est armé. Le voyant sans flèches ni tomahawk, il se dit : Après tout, il ne peut prétendre à rien que je n’y consente ; examinons. — Il examine les habits, suppute le nombre d’heures qu’il mettrait à les faire lui-même, et le compare au nombre d’heures qu’il devrait ajouter à son travail horticole pour satisfaire l’étranger. — S’il trouve que l’échange, en le laissant tout aussi bien nourri et vêtu, met quelques-unes de ses heures en disponibilité, il accepte, sachant bien que ces heures disponibles sont un profit net, soit qu’il les emploie au travail ou au repos. — Si, au contraire, il croit le marché désavantageux, il le refuse. Qu’est-il besoin, en ce cas, qu’une force extérieure le lui interdise ? Il sait se l’interdire lui-même.

"Why not? Let us take a walk there. Do you see, Robinson Crusoe is busy making clothes to protect himself from the rain and cold. He is regretting the time he has to spend on this as he also needs to eat and his garden takes up all his time. But here is a canoe that has come to the island. The stranger that disembarks shows Robinson Crusoe some warm clothes, offers to trade them to him for a few vegetables and offers to continue this exchange in the future. Robinson Crusoe first looks to see whether the stranger is armed. Seeing that he has neither arrows nor a tomahawk, he says to himself: "After all, he cannot lay claim to anything that I do not agree to; let us have a look." He examines the clothes, calculates the number of hours he would spend making them himself and compares this with the number of hours he would have to add to his gardening work to satisfy the stranger. If he finds that the trade, while leaving him just as well fed and clothed, makes a few extra hours of his time available, he will accept, knowing full well that these hours saved are a net gain, whether he devotes them to work or leisure. If, on the other hand, he thinks that the bargain is not advantageous, he will refuse it. What need is there in this case for an external force to forbid it to him? He is able to refuse it himself.

  After several pages of going back and forth the free trader armed with his Crusoe arguments is not able to fully convince the protectionist of his position and the discussion ends unsatisfactorily. This lack of resolution perhaps explains why Bastiat never finished the essay and never published it his usual journals.

His second use of a Crusoe story is in March 1847, ES2.14 "Autre chose" (Something Else) Le Libre-Échange (21 March 1847). [290] Bastiat, as he often does, has created a conversation between two intellectual opponents (in this case a Protectionist and a Free Trader) where the Protectionist asks the Free Trader to explain the effects of protectionism. The Free Trader replies "la chose n’est pas aisée. Avant d’aborder le cas compliqué, il faudrait l’étudier dans le cas le plus simple" ((t)hat is not so easy. Before considering the more complicated cases, one should study the simpler ones), before launching into a discussion of how Crusoe made a plank of wood without a saw. [291] After two weeks of intense labor chipping away at a log with an axe Crusoe finally has his plank (and a blunt axe). He then sees that the tide has washed ashore a proper saw-cut plank and wonders what he should do next (the new plank is an obvious reference to a cheaper overseas import which the protectionists believed would harm the national French economy). Bastiat puts some protectionist notions in Crusoe's head and Crusoe now concludes that he can make more labor for himself (and therefore be better off according to the protectionists) if he pushed the plank back out to sea. The Free Trader exposes this economic fallacy by saying that there is something that is "not seen" by the Protectionist at first glance, namely "Did he not see that he could devote the time he could have saved to making something else?" Thus, Bastiat gives us a very clear statement about opportunity cost and the things with are "not seen" some three years before his best statement of this in WSWNS (July 1850): [292]

— Soit. Ce n’en est pas moins celui que fait toute nation qui se protège par la prohibition. [153] Elle repousse la planche qui lui est offerte en échange d’un petit travail, afin de se donner un travail plus grand. Il n’y a pas jusqu’au travail du douanier dans lequel elle ne voie un gain. Il est représenté par la peine que se donna Robinson pour aller rendre aux flots le présent qu’ils voulaient lui faire. Considérez la nation comme un être collectif, et vous ne trouverez pas entre son raisonnement et celui de Robinson un atome de différence.	“So it is! It is nevertheless the one followed by any nation that protects itself through prohibition. It rejects the plank offered to it for little work in order to give itself more work. There is no work up to and including the work of the customs officer in which it does not see advantage. This is illustrated by the trouble taken by Robinson Crusoe to return to the sea the gift it wished to make him. Think of the nation as a collective being, and you will find not an atom of difference between its way of reasoning and that of Robinson Crusoe.”
— Robinson ne voyait-il pas que le temps épargné il le pouvait consacrer à faire autre chose ?	Didn't Robinson see that the time he saved could be spent doing something else?
— Quelle autre chose ?	What else?
— Tant qu’on a devant soi des besoins et du temps, on a toujours quelque chose à faire. Je ne suis pas tenu de préciser le travail qu’il pouvait entreprendre.	So long as one has (unsatisfied) wants and time (on one's hands), one always has somethign to do. It is not my job to precisely say what kind of work he could have undertaken.
— Je précise bien celui qui lui aurait échappé.	I can say precisely what work he avoided doing.
— Et moi je soutiens que Robinson, par un aveuglement incroyable, confondait le travail avec son résultat, le but avec les moyens et je vais vous le prouver….	As for me, I maintain that Robinson, becausse of his unbelievable blindness, confused labour with its product/result, the end with the means, and I am going to prove ti to you …
— Je vous en dispense. Toujours est-il que voilà le système restrictif ou prohibitif dans sa plus simple expression. S’il vous paraît absurde sous cette forme, c’est que les deux qualités de producteur et de consommateur se confondent ici dans le même individu.	“I will let you off that. It is nevertheless true that this is the simplest example of a restrictive or prohibitionist system. If it appears absurd to you in this form, it is because the two roles of producer and consumer are here combined in the same person.”

Having begun the story with this simple example involving only one person Bastiat then introduces "Vendredi" (Friday) who has a conversation with Robinson. Crusoe now has someone with whom he can cooperate and trade. They can pool their resources, plan their economic activities, develop a simple form of the division of labor, and even trade with each other. When a third person arrives from another island and proposes a trading relationship whereby Crusoe and Friday trade their vegetables for the visitor's game Bastiat now can explore the benefits of international comparative advantage in trade. Bastiat uses this three way conversation to make his points: interestingly, he gives Crusoe the protectionist arguments; Friday is given the domestic free trade arguments, and the visitor becomes an advocate of international free trade. The sophism concludes with another reference by Bastiat to "not seeing" what is before one's (mind's) eye. Bastiat urges the reader to "see" the solution to the economic problem by thinking like Robinson: [293]

— Oui, mais sans en être moins bien vêtue, petite circonstance qui fait toute la méprise. Robinson la perdait de vue; nos protectionnistes ne la voient pas ou la dissimulent. La planche naufragée frappait aussi d’inertie, pour quinze jours, le travail de Robinson, en tant qu’appliqué à faire une [162] planche, mais sans l'en priver. Distinguez donc entre ces deux espèces de diminution de travail, celle qui a pour effet la privation, et celle qui a pour cause la satisfaction. Ces deux choses sont fort différentes, et si vous les assimilez, vous raisonnez comme Robinson. Dans les cas les plus compliqués, comme dans les plus simples, le sophisme consiste en ceci : Juger de l’utilité du travail par sa durée et son intensité, et non par ses résultats; ce qui conduit à cette police économique : Réduire les résultats du travail dans le but d’en augmenter la durée et l'intensité.

“Yes, but without her people’s being less well clothed, an undramatic circumstance but one that underlies the whole misunderstanding. Robinson Crusoe lost sight of this; our protectionists either do not see this or they are hiding it. The plank washed ashore also brought Robinson Crusoe’s work to a standstill for two weeks, as far as making a plank was concerned, but it did not deprive him of work. You therefore have to distinguish between these two types of decline in the demand for labor, the one that has deprivation as its effect and the one which has increased satisfaction as its cause. These two things are very different, and if you do not distinguish between them you are reasoning like Robinson Crusoe. In the most complex cases, as in the most simple ones, the sophism consists in this: ‘Judge the usefulness of the work by its duration and its intensity and not by its results,’ which leads to the following economic policy: ‘Reduce the output of work with the aim of increasing its duration and intensity.’”

The relationship between Robinson and Vendredi is explored further in the third example in the Second Letter of “Propriété et Spoliation" (Property and Plunder) (July 1848), where the benefits of a division of labour are realized by bother parties: Robinson agrees to hunt while Vendredi agrees to fish. [294] The context was a debate in the National Assembly on the question of "the right to work" legislation which Bastiat and the free market liberals strenuously opposed. The socialist supporters of the legislation believed that the state should provide work and wages for those who could not get any on the free market. Furthermore, wages should be raised if the state felt that workers were not being paid their "just" wage. Here Bastiat again introduces Crusoe and Friday to help explain why voluntary exchanges between individuals are both just and more productive than "exchanges" brought about by state imposed controls. On their island Crusoe hunts birds and Friday fishes in the sea. Their division of labor means that they can both benefit from exchanging with each other. In this essay Bastiat gives socialist arguments to Crusoe who believes the value of his birds are intrinsically worth more than the value of Friday's fish and that Friday should be forced to give him more fish than he would have if a free bargain had been made between them. Bastiat argues that in a freely made bargain there is an exchange of "service for service" [295] which leaves both parties better off. Friday tells Crusoe that if he insists on being paid a premium for his birds then he, Friday, will take up his own hunting when he needs a bird to eat, and that no trading will take place, thus leaving them both worse off compared to what would have happened if they had engaged in free trade.

In the fourth Crusoe story Bastiat deals with the very important socialist criticism of free markets that capital formation violates the rights of others, especially wage laborers. This objection was especially important to Proudhon and to Marx. In a pamphlet explicitly called "Capital" (1849). [296] Bastiat describes how Robinson's acquisition of capital is both just and productive and calls Robinson "ce héros pacifique" (this peace-loving hero) for doing this: [297]

Quand ce héros pacifique éternellement chéri de toutes les générations d’enfants, Robinson Crusoé, se trouva jeté par la tempête sur une île déserte, le besoin le plus impérieux de notre fragile nature le força à poursuivre, au jour le jour, la proie qui devait l’empêcher de mourir. Il aurait bien voulu construire une hutte, clore un jardin, réparer ses vêtements, fabriquer des armes ; mais il s’apercevait que, pour se livrer à ces travaux, il faut des matériaux, des instruments, et surtout des provisions, car nos besoins sont [vii-250] gradués de telle sorte qu’on ne peut travailler à satisfaire les uns que lorsqu’on a accumulé de quoi satisfaire les autres. Eût-il vécu pendant l’éternité tout entière, jamais Robinson n’aurait pu entreprendre la construction d’une hutte ou la confection d’un outil, s’il n’avait préalablement mis en réserve ou épargné du gibier ou du poisson.

When this peace-loving hero, who is forever loved by all generations of children, Robinson Crusoe, found himself thrown onto a deserted island by a storm, the most pressing demand of our fragile nature forced him to hunt game one day at a time in order to avoid death. He also wanted very much to build a hut, fence off his garden, repair his clothes, build some weapons, but he realised that in order to devote himself to those tasks he needed some resources, some tools, and especially some provisions, because our needs are ranked in such a way that one can only work to satisfy one need when one has accumulated enough to satisfy the others.Had he been able to live for eternity Robinson would never have been able to undertake the building of a hut or the creation of a tool if he hadn't previously put aside or saved some game or some fish.

Once again Bastiat repeats the reason why the thought experiment of the Crusoe stories are important for the economist to understand complex economic processes by simplifying them. Many economic activities, and the making of choices and decisions by economic actors are simplified by being untied into one person:

Pour faire quoi que ce soit en ce monde, il faut dans une mesure quelconque une ou deux de ces choses ou les trois réunies. Comment pourrions-nous bâtir, construire, labourer, tisser, filer, forger, lire, étudier, si, par le travail et l’épargne, nous n’avions acquis des matériaux, des instruments et, en tout cas, quelques provisions ?

Quand, pendant son travail actuel, un homme consomme du capital qu’il a lui-même formé, on peut le considérer comme réunissant toutes les qualités de producteur, consommateur, prêteur, emprunteur, débiteur, créancier, capitaliste, ouvrier ; et, le phénomène économique s’accomplissant tout entier dans un seul individu, le mécanisme en est d’une simplicité extrême, ainsi que nous le montre l’exemple de Robinson. (OC7, p. 251)

Crusoe Stories and the "isolated man" in the Economic Harmonies

By the time he came to write the Economic Harmonies Bastiat had made Crusoe a central part of his elaboration of the basic principles of economic action in the chapters on “Capital” (Chap. 7), “Private Property and Common Wealth” (Chap. 8), and most importantly on the very nature of “Exchange” (Chap. 4) itself. What made this work revolutionary and perhaps 100 years ahead of its time was Bastiat's attempt to radically simplify economic reasoning by cutting it down to the bare bones of one person, and then two, making decisions about how to survive with limited resources and many needs. This he was able to do by using the story of Robinson Crusoe. Bastiat broke away in Economic Harmonies from the classical tradition of focussing on "production" (or wealth creation) or "exchange" or buying and selling goods with money (catallaxy) which had dominated economic thinking since its emergence in the 17th century. Instead, he focussed on working out the basic principles which underlay any "human action" (the phrase occurs seven times in EH) [298] whose purpose was to satisfy a person's "needs" ("besoins" - whatever they might be, whether material or non-material) by making certain "efforts" in order to achieve some kind of "satisfaction" (of those needs). One of his key introductory chapters II was entitled "Besoins, Efforts, Satisfactions" which had originally been published in the JDE in September 1848. [299] We can see in this approach that Bastiat was very close to the Misesian and Rothbardian approach to "praxeology" which they developed in the 1940s (Mises) and the 1950s (Rothbard).

In the Economic Harmonies Bastiat's refers to "l'homme isolé" (isolated man) 25 times and to Robinson Crusoe 16 times in six separate "Crusoe stories". His approach is similar to that of Mises and Rothbard in that his understanding on human economic decision-making was based upon certain "axioms" (34 refs), "truisms" (4) or "unassailable truths" about human nature and human action (7). This is made clear in the following passage from Chap. 3 "Des Besoins de l'homme (The Needs of Man) where he states that "L’homme isolé est à la fois producteur et consommateur, inventeur et entrepreneur, capitaliste et ouvrier ; tous les phénomènes économiques s’accomplissent en lui, et il est comme un résumé de la société" (Man in isolation is simultaneously a producer and consumer, inventor and entrepreneur, capitalist and worker. All economic phenomena are accomplished in him, and he is so to speak a summary of society). The full quotation is worth reading: [300]

Quand on considère d'une manière générale et, pour ainsi dire, abstraite, l'homme, ses besoins, ses efforts, ses satisfactions, sa constitution, ses penchants, ses tendances, on aboutit à une série d'observations qui paraissent à l'abri du doute et se montrent dans tout l'éclat de l'évidence, chacun en trouvant la preuve en lui-même. C'est au point que l'écrivain ne sait trop comment s'y prendre pour soumettre au public des vérités si palpables et si vulgaires: il craint de provoquer le sourire du dédain. Il lui semble, avec quelque raison, que le lecteur courroucé va jeter le livre, en s'écriant: « Je ne perdrai pas mon temps à apprendre ces trivialités. »	When you consider man, his needs, efforts, satisfactions, constitution, leanings or tendencies in general and in an abstract fashion, so to speak, you arrive at a series of observations that appear to be free of any doubt and which are seen to be blindingly obvious, with each carrying its own proof within it. This is so true that the writer is at a loss as to how to present such palpable and widely known truths to the general public, for fear of arousing a scornful smile. It seems to him quite rightly that the annoyed reader will toss aside the book saying, “I will not waste my time being told such trivialities.”
Et cependant ces vérités, tenues pour si incontestables tant qu'elles sont présentées d'une manière générale, que nous souffrons à peine qu'elles nous soient rappelées, ne passent plus que pour des erreurs ridicules, des théories absurdes sitôt que l'on observe l'homme dans le milieux social. Qui jamais, en considérant l'homme isolé, s'aviserait de dire: La production surabonde; la faculté de consommer ne peut suivre la faculté de produire; le luxe et les goûts factices sont la source de la richesse; l'invention des machines anéantit le travail; et autres apophthegmes de la même force qui, appliqués à des agglomérations [59] humaines, passent cependant pour des axiomes si bien établis, qu'on en fait la base de nos lois industrielles et commerciales? L'échange produit à cet égard une illusion dont ne savent pas se préserver les esprits de la meilleure trempe, et j'affirme que l'économie politique aura atteint son but et rempli sa mission quand elle aura définitivement démontré ceci : Ce qui est vrai de l'homme est vrai de la société. L'homme isolé est à la fois producteur et consommateur, inventeur et entrepreneur, capitaliste et ouvrier ; tous les phénomènes économiques s'accomplissent en lui, et il est comme un résumé de la société. De même l'humanité, vue dans son ensemble, est un homme immense, collectif, multiple, auquel s'appliquent exactement les vérités observées sur l'individualité même.	And yet these truths, held so incontrovertible when presented generally that we scarcely allow ourselves to be reminded of them, now appear to be just ridiculous errors and absurd theories when man is observed in a social environment. When considering man in isolation, who would be tempted to say: “We have overproduction, the ability to consume cannot keep up with the ability to produce; luxury and meretricious tastes are the source of wealth; the invention of machines is wiping out work” and other pithy sayings of the same order which, when applied to humans collectively, nevertheless appear so well established that they are made the basis of our industrial and commercial laws? Trade in this context produces an illusion to which the best honed intellects cannot avoid giving way, and I would propose that political economy will have achieved its goal and fulfilled its mission when it has finally demonstrated the following: What is true for the individual is true for society. Man in isolation is simultaneously a producer and consumer, inventor and entrepreneur, capitalist and worker. All economic phenomena are accomplished in him, and he is so to speak a summary of society. In the same way, the human race, taken as a whole, is a huge, collective and multiple man to whom the truths observed of individuality itself can be applied.
J'avais besoin de faire cette remarque, qui, je l'espère, sera mieux justifiée par la suite, avant de continuer ces études sur l'homme. Sans cela, j'aurais craint que le lecteur ne rejetât, comme superflus, les développements, les véritables truismes qui vont suivre.	I needed to make this remark, which I hope will be better justified by what follows, before continuing this study of man. Without this, I feared that the reader would reject as unnecessary the inferences and obvious truisms that follow.

He will use this praxeological method in his Crusoe stories which are only a part of the considerable number of the stories he would use in the treaties to help make his points. I have counted a total of 55 stories which I have described elsewhere and to which I have given numbers. [301] Of these six are about Robinson Crusoe which I list and summarize here. A more detailed discussion of these stories are provided below.

1. Story 9 is on the problems faced by a “a man living in isolation”: Chap. III. On the Needs of Man ; p. 70 Online] A brief reference to the economic problems faced by “un homme isolé" (a man living in isolation) who needs to save some of the food he has hunted if he wishes to build and accumulate capital. "Supposons un homme isolé et réduit à vivre de chasse. Il est aisé de comprendre que si, chaque soir, il avait consommé tout le gibier pris dans la journée, jamais il ne pourrait entreprendre aucun autre ouvrage, bâtir une hutte, réparer ses armes; tout progrès lui serait à jamais interdit." (Let us imagine a man living in isolation who has to survive by hunting. It is easy to understand that if, every evening, he has consumed all the game he had caught during the day, he could never undertake any other activity such as building a hut, or repairing his weapons; then all progress would forever be out of his reach) Elsewhere he will use the story of Robinson Crusoe in quite elaborate “thought experiments” to explore this much further.
2. Story 10 is an introduction to the story of Robinson Crusoe: Chap. IV. Exchange;Online p. 79: Bastiat introduces the reader to the story of Robinson Crusoe for the first time in EH (he will do so four more times). He sets up the thought experiment by bringing him into the discussion in order to show “l'homme surmontant par son énergie, son activité, son intelligence, les difficultés de la solitude absolue" (man overcoming the difficulties of absolute solitude by his sheer energy, industriousness, and intelligence.)
3. Story 16 is a story about Robinson Crusoe's interest in overcoming obstacles: Chap. IV. “Exchange." Online p. 111: The first story about Robinson Crusoe deals with his interest in overcoming obstacles to satisfying his needs, which is contrasted with the protectionists who demand more obstacles in the mistaken belief that more labor means more wealth.
4. Story 28 is a story about Robinson Crusoe and why he would want to make a tool, or a “capital good”: Chap. VII. “Capital” Online p. 189: The second story about Robinson Crusoe. Here we follow Crusoe’s thinking about why he would want to make a tool, or a “capital good” (how much more productive it will make him in the future) and how he will go about doing so (the time it will take to make, the stock of food he will have to accumulate and put aside to consume while making the tool).
5. Story 30 a story about Robinson Crusoe and how, once he has used a tool to better satisfy one need, he uses the time thus freed up to satisfy the next need in his hierarchy of needs: Chap. VIII “Property and Community” Online p. 230: The third story about Robinson Crusoe. A brief reference to Robinson Crusoe in a discussion of how, once he has used a tool to better satisfy one need, he uses the time thus freed up to satisfy the next need in his hierarchy of needs.
6. Story 31 a story about Robinson Crusoe on how the judgement made by consumers of their needs “governs the direction of production” even for a person living in isolation: Chap. VIII “Property and Community” Online p. 234: The fourth and final story about Robinson Crusoe. Another brief reference to Robinson Crusoe. Here Bastiat discusses how the judgement made by consumers of their needs “governs the direction of production” even for a person living in isolation like Crusoe. He chooses whether to spend his time hunting for food or “arranging the feathers of his headdress.”

Story 9

Story 9 is on the problems faced by a “a man living in isolation”: Chap. III. On the Needs of Man ; p. 70 Online. This is a brief discussion of the economic problems faced by “un homme isolé" (a man living in isolation) who needs to save some of the food he has hunted if he wishes to build and accumulate capital.

Supposons un homme isolé et réduit à vivre de chasse. Il est aisé de comprendre que si, chaque soir, il avait consommé tout le gibier pris dans la journée, jamais il ne pourrait entreprendre aucun autre ouvrage, bâtir une hutte, réparer ses armes; tout progrès lui serait à jamais interdit.

Let us imagine a man living in isolation who has to survive by hunting. It is easy to understand that if, every evening, he has consumed all the game he had caught during the day, he could never undertake any other activity such as building a hut, or repairing his weapons; then all progress would forever be out of his reach.

Elsewhere he will use the story of Robinson Crusoe in quite elaborate “thought experiments” to explore this much further.

Story 10

Story 10 is an introduction to the story of Robinson Crusoe: Chap. IV. Exchange;Online p. 79. Bastiat introduces the reader to the story of Robinson Crusoe for the first time in EH (he will do so four more times). He sets up the thought experiment by bringing him into the discussion in order to show “l'homme surmontant par son énergie, son activité, son intelligence, les difficultés de la solitude absolue" (man overcoming the difficulties of absolute solitude by his sheer energy, industriousness, and intelligence.)

Un des philosophes les plus populaires, dans un roman qui a le privilége de charmer l’enfance de génération en génération, nous a montré l’homme surmontant par son énergie, son activité, son intelligence, les difficultés de la solitude absolue. Voulant mettre en lumière tout ce qu’il y a de ressources dans cette noble créature, il l’a supposée, pour ainsi dire, accidentellement retranchée de la civilisation. Il entrait donc dans le plan de Daniel de Foë de jeter dans l’île du Désespoir Robinson seul, nu, privé de tout ce qu’ajoutent aux forces humaines l’union des efforts, la séparation des occupations, l’échange, la société.	In a novel with a matchless capacity for charming children from one generation to the next, one of the most popular sages has shown man overcoming the difficulties of absolute solitude by his sheer energy industriousness and intelligence. Wishing to cast light on all the resources possessed by this noble creature, he portrayed him, so to speak, as a being accidentally cut off from civilization. A part of Daniel Defoe’s plan was thus to cast Robinson Crusoe on the Island of Despair alone, naked and deprived of everything that adds to human powers : collective effort, the division of labor, trade and society itself.
Cependant, et quoique les obstacles ne soient qu’un jeu pour l’imagination, Daniel de Foë aurait ôté à son roman jusqu’à l’ombre de la vraisemblance, si, trop fidèle à la pensée qu’il voulait développer, il n’eût pas fait à l’état social des concessions obligées, en admettant que son héros avait sauvé du naufrage quelques objets indispensables, des provisions, de la poudre, un fusil, une hache, un couteau, des cordes, des planches, du fer, etc. ; preuve décisive que la société est le milieu nécessaire de l’homme, puisqu’un romancier même n’a pu le faire vivre hors de son sein.	However, and while the obstacles are are no more than a diversion for the imagination, Daniel Defoe would have removed from his novel every vestige of verisimilitude if he had been too faithful to the notion that he wanted to develop and had not made obligatory concessions to the social state by accepting that his hero had saved from the shipwreck a few essential objects, provisions, gunpowder, a gun, an axe, a knife, ropes, planks, iron, etc., a clear proof that society is the essential environment for man, since even a novelist is unable to have his character live outside it.
Et remarquez que Robinson portait avec lui dans la solitude un autre trésor social mille fois plus précieux et que les flots ne pouvaient engloutir, je veux parler de ses idées, de ses souvenirs, de son expérience, de son langage même, sans lequel il n’aurait pu s’entretenir avec lui-même, c’est-à-dire penser.	And note that Robinson Crusoe carried with him into solitude another social treasure a thousand times more precious and that the waves were unable to swallow up, I mean his ideas, his memories, his experience, even his language, without which he would not have been able to talk to himself, that is to say, think.

It might seem odd that Bastiat would bring Robinson Crusoe into the picture in a chapter devoted ostensibly to "Exchange" since one of the defining characteristics of Robinson Crusoe before he met Friday was that there was no possibility of any exchange, only personal and private activities of various kinds. However, Bastiat has a reason which is that the elements of interpersonal exchange and the division of labour are still present in the actions even of the isolated man.

Story 16

Story 16 is a story about Robinson Crusoe's interest in overcoming obstacles: Chap. IV. “Exchange." Online p. 111. This is the first story about Robinson Crusoe and deals with his interest in overcoming obstacles to satisfying his needs, which is contrasted with the protectionists who demand more obstacles in the mistaken belief that more labor means more wealth. It is in the form of a constructed conversation.

Les rapports de ces quatre éléments : besoin, obstacle, effort, satisfaction, sont parfaitement visibles et compréhensibles dans l'homme isolé. Jamais, au grand jamais, il ne nous viendrait dans la pensée de dire:	The relationship between these four elements, need, obstacle, effort, and satisfaction are perfectly visible and understandable in men living in isolation. Never, ever, would it occur to us to say:
« Il est fâcheux que Robinson ne rencontre pas plus d'obstacles; car, en ce cas, il aurait plus d'occasions de déployer ses efforts: il serait plus riche. »	“It is a pity that Robinson Crusoe does not encounter more obstacles, for if he did, he would have more opportunity of making an effort; he would be wealthier.”
« Il est fâcheux que la mer ait jeté sur le rivage de l'île du Désespoir des objets utiles, des planches, des vivres, des armes, des livres; car cela ôte à Robinson l'occasion de déployer ses efforts: il est moins riche. »	“It is a pity that the sea washed up useful objects on the shores of the Island of Despair, useful objects like planks, food, weapons, and books, for this has deprived Robinson Crusoe of the opportunity of making efforts; therefore he is less wealthy.”
« Il est fâcheux que Robinson ait inventé des filets pour prendre le poisson ou le gibier; car cela diminue d'autant les efforts qu'il accomplit pour un résultat donné: il est moins riche. »,	“It is a pity that Robinson Crusoe invented nets to catch fish or game, for that has reduced the amount of effort he has had to expend for a given result; he is less wealthy.”
« Il est fâcheux que Robinson ne soit pas plus souvent malade. Cela lui fournirait l'occasion de faire de la médecine sur lui-même, ce qui est un travail; et comme toute richesse vient du travail, il serait plus riche. » [112]	“It is a pity that Robinson Crusoe is not sick more often. This would give him the opportunity of curing himself, which is work, and since all wealth comes from work he would be more wealthy.”
« Il est fâcheux que Robinson ait réussi à éteindre l'incendie qui menaçait sa cabane. Il a perdu là une précieuse occasion de travail: il est moins riche. »	“It is a pity that Robinson Crusoe was successful in putting out the fire that threatened his hut. There he lost a precious opportunity for work; he is less wealthy.”
« Il est fâcheux que dans l'île du Désespoir la terre ne soit pas plus ingrate, la source plus éloignée, le soleil moins longtemps sur l'horizon. Pour se nourrir, s'abreuver, s'éclairer, Robinson aurait plus de peine à prendre: il serait plus riche. »	“It is a pity that the soil on the Island of Despair was not more arid, water more distant, and that there were fewer hours of sunlight each day. Robinson Crusoe would have had to take more trouble to feed himself and provide himself with drink and light; he would be more wealthy.”
Jamais, dis-je, on ne mettrait en avant comme des oracles de vérité des propositions aussi absurdes. Il serait d'une évidence trop palpable que la richesse ne consiste pas dans l'intensité de l'effort pour chaque satisfaction acquise, et que c'est justement le contraire qui est vrai. On comprendrait que la richesse ne consiste ni dans le besoin, ni dans l'obstacle, ni dans l'effort, mais dans la satisfaction; et l'on n'hésiterait pas à reconnaître qu'encore que Robinson soit tout à la fois producteur et consommateur, pour juger de ses progrès, ce n'est pas à son travail, mais aux résultats qu'il faut regarder. Bref, en proclamant cet axiome: L'intérêt dominant est celui du consommateur, — on croirait n'exprimer qu'un véritable truisme.	Never, I say, would anyone put forward such absurd propositions as oracles of the truth. It would be only too palpably obvious that wealth does not consist in the intensity of the effort devoted to each satisfaction achieved and that it is precisely the contrary that is true. It would be understood that wealth does not lie either in need, obstacles, or effort, but in satisfaction, and nobody would hesitate to acknowledge that while Robinson Crusoe is both a producer and a consumer, in order to assess his progress it is not his work but the results of it that have to be considered. In short, by proclaiming the following axiom: that the most important interest is that of the consumer; we believe that we are just expressing a genuine truism.

Story 28

Story 28 is a story about Robinson Crusoe and why he would want to make a tool, or a “capital good”: Chap. VII. “Capital” Online p. 189. This is the second story about Robinson Crusoe. Here we follow Crusoe’s thinking about why he would want to make a tool, or a “capital good” (how much more productive it will make him in the future) and how he will go about doing so (the time it will take to make, the stock of food he will have to accumulate and put aside to consume while making the tool).

Nul homme ne veut dissiper ses forces pour le plaisir de les dissiper. Notre Robinson ne se livrera donc à la confection de l'instrument qu'autant qu'il apercevra au bout une économie définitive d'efforts à satisfaction égale, ou un accroissement de satisfactions à efforts égaux.	No man wants to waste his strength for the pleasure of wasting it. Our Robinson Crusoe will therefore not devote himself to manufacturing a tool unless he perceives in the end a clear saving of effort for the same satisfaction or an increase in satisfaction for the same effort.
Une circonstance qui influe beaucoup sur le calcul, c'est le nombre et la fréquence des produits auxquels devra concourir l'instrument pendant sa durée. Robinson a un premier terme de comparaison. C'est l'effort actuel, celui auquel il est assujetti chaque fois qu'il veut se procurer la satisfaction directement et sans nul aide. Il estime ce que l'instrument lui épargnera d'efforts dans chacune de ces occasions; mais il faut travailler pour faire l'instrument, et ce travail il le répartira, par la pensée, sur le nombre total des circonstances où il pourra s'en servir. Plus ce nombre sera grand, plus sera puissant aussi le motif déterminant à faire concourir l'agent naturel. — C'est là, c'est dans cette répartition d'une avance sur la totalité des produits, qu'est le principe et la raison d'être de l'Intérêt.	A circumstance that has a considerable bearing on the calculation is the number of products made and how frequently the tool will have to be used during its lifetime. Robinson Crusoe has an initial yardstick. This is his current effort, the effort to which he is subject each time he wants to obtain the satisfaction directly for himself without any assistance. He calculates what the tool will save him in effort on each of these occasions, but he will have to work to manufacture the tool, and he will divide this labor in his mind by the total number of occasions on which he will be able to use it. The greater this number, the more pressing the motive will be to harness natural resources too. It is here, in the distribution of an advance payment over the total number of products made that the basis and raison d’être of interest lies.
Une fois que Robinson est décidé à fabriquer l'instrument, il s'aperçoit que la bonne volonté et l'avantage ne suffisent pas. Il faut des instruments pour faire des instruments; il faut du fer pour battre le fer, et ainsi de suite, en remontant de difficultés en difficultés vers une difficulté première qui semble insoluble. Ceci nous avertit de l'extrême lenteur avec laquelle les capitaux ont dû se former à l'origine, et dans quelle proportion énorme l'effort humain était sollicité pour chaque satisfaction.	Once Robinson Crusoe has decided to manufacture a tool, he realizes that (his) willingness (to do so) and (the expected) advantage are not enough. Tools are needed to make tools; iron is needed to hammer out iron and so on, going backward from difficulty to difficulty to an initial difficulty that appears to be insoluble. This alerts us to the extreme slowness with which capital must have been accumulated originally and to the enormous degree human effort was called upon to achieve each satisfaction.
Ce n'est pas tout. Pour faire les instruments de travail, eût-on les outils nécessaires, il faut encore des matériaux. S'ils sont fournis gratuitement par la nature, comme la pierre, encore [190] faut-il les réunir, ce qui est une peine. Mais presque toujours la possession de ces matériaux suppose un travail antérieur, long et compliqué, comme s'il s'agit de mettre en œuvre de la laine, du lin, du fer, du plomb, etc.	This is not all. In order to make tools for work, even if you had the tools needed, (raw) materials were also necessary. If they are supplied gratuitously by nature, like stone, they [190] still have to be gathered, and this takes effort. The possession of these materials, however, almost always implies previous labor, which is long and complicated, as when you have to use wool, linen, iron, lead, etc.
Ce n'est pas tout encore. Pendant que l'homme travaille ainsi, dans l'unique vue de faciliter sou travail ultérieur, il ne l'ait rien pour ses besoins actuels. Or c'est là un ordre de phénomènes dans lequel la nature n'a pas voulu mettre d'interruption. Tous les jours il faut se nourrir, se vêtir, s'abriter. Robinson s'apercevra donc qu'il ne peut rien entreprendre en vue de faire concourir des forces naturelles, qu'il n'ait préalablement accumulé des provisions. Il faut que chaque jour il redouble d'activité à la chasse, qu'il mette de côté une partie du gibier, puis, qu'il s'impose des privations, afin de se donner le temps nécessaire à l'exécution de l'instrument de travail qu'il projette. Dans ces circonstances, il est plus que vraisemblable que sa prétention se bornera à faire un instrument imparfait et grossier, c'est-à-dire très-peu propre à remplir sa destination.	That is still not all. While a man is working in this way with the sole aim of making future work easier, he is doing nothing to meet his current needs. Well, involved here is an order of phenomena that nature has no intention of disrupting. Every day, people have to eat, clothe themselves, and have shelter. Robinson Crusoe will therefore see that he cannot undertake anything with respect to making nature’s forces contribute unless he has first of all accumulated a stock of provisions. He will have to redouble his efforts to hunt and save some of the game and then deprive himself so as to give himself the time he needs to make the tool he plans. In these circumstances, it is more than likely that his aspiration will be limited to making a rough and imperfect tool, one that is not very suited to the use to which it is to be put.
Plus tard, toutes les facilités s'accroîtront de concert. La réflexion et l'expérience auront appris à notre insulaire à mieux opérer; le premier instrument lui-même lui fournira les moyens d'en fabriquer d'autres et d'accumuler des provisions avec plus de promptitude.	Later on, all (his) faculties will improve together. Reflection and experience will have taught our island dweller how to do things better. The initial tool itself will supply him with the means to make others and to amass a stock of provisions more quickly.
Instruments, matériaux, provisions, voilà sans doute ce que Robinson appellera son capital, et il reconnaîtra aisément que plus ce capital sera considérable, plus il asservira de forces naturelles, plus il les fera concourir à ses travaux, plus enfin il augmentera le rapport de ses satisfactions à ses efforts.	Tools, materials, and provisions are what Robinson Crusoe will doubtless call his capital, and he will readily acknowledge that the more of this capital he has, the more use he will make of the forces of nature, the more these forces will assist his work, and in the end the greater will be the relationship between his satisfaction and his effort.

Story 30

Story 30 a story about Robinson Crusoe and how, once he has used a tool to better satisfy one need, he uses the time thus freed up to satisfy the next need in his hierarchy of needs: Chap. VIII “Property and Community” Online p. 230. This is the third story about Robinson Crusoe. A brief reference to Robinson Crusoe in a discussion of how, once he has used a tool to better satisfy one need, he uses the time thus freed up to satisfy the next need in his hierarchy of needs.

Quand l'homme isolé réalise un progrès, en faisant concourir à son œuvre une force naturelle, la somme de ses efforts se trouve réduite d'autant, par rapport à l'effet utile cherché. Elle serait réduite aussi d'une manière absolue si cet homme, satisfait de sa première condition, convertissait son progrès en loisir, et s'abstenait de consacrer à de nouvelles jouissances cette portion d'efforts rendue désormais disponible. Mais cela suppose que l'ambition, le désir, l'aspiration sont des forces limitées ; que le cœur humain n'est pas indéfiniment expansible. Or, il n'en est rien. A peine Robinson a mis une partie de son travail à la charge de la nature, qu'il le consacre à de nouvelles entreprises. L'ensemble de ses efforts reste le même : seulement il y en a un entre autres qui est plus productif, plus fructueux, aidé par une plus grande proportion de collaboration naturelle et gratuite. — C'est justement le phénomène qui se réalise au sein de la société.

When a man (living) in isolation makes progress by harnessing a force of nature to contribute to his labor, the sum of his effort is reduced proportionately to the useful result sought. It would also be reduced absolutely if this man, satisfied with his initial condition, converted his progress into leisure, and refrained from devoting this quantity of effort now released to the pursuit of new satisfactions. But this assumes that ambition, desire, and aspiration are limited forces, that the human heart does not expand indefinitely. Well, this is not so. Scarcely had Robinson Crusoe made nature take over part of his labor than he devoted this portion to new enterprises. The total of his efforts remained the same, but one of these was more productive, more fruitful, and assisted by a greater proportion of gratuitous and natural assistance. This is exactly the phenomenon that is achieved within society.

De ce que la charrue, la herse, le marteau, la scie, les bœufs et les chevaux, la voile, les chutes d'eau, la vapeur, ont successivement exonéré l'humanité d'une masse énorme d'efforts pout chaque résultat obtenu, il ne s'ensuit pas nécessairement que ces efforts, mis en disponibilité aient été frappés d'inertie Rappelons-nous ce qui a été dit de l'expansibilité indéfinie de! besoins et des désirs. Jetons d'ailleurs un regard sur le monde et nous n'hésiterons pas à reconnaître qu'à chaque fois qui [231] l'homme a pu vaincre un obstacle avec de la force naturelle, il a tourné sa force propre contre d'autres obstacles. …

From the fact that plows, harrows, hammers, saws, oxen and horses, sails, waterfalls, and steam have in succession spared the human race a huge quantity of effort for each result obtained, it does not necessarily follow that the efforts released have been rendered inert. Let us remember what has been said about the indefinite expandability of needs and desires. For that matter, if we took a look at the world, we would not hesitate to acknowledge that each time man has been able to overcome an obstacle using the forces of nature he has turned his own forces to tackle further obstacles.

Story 31

Story 31 a story about Robinson Crusoe on how the judgement made by consumers of their needs “governs the direction of production” even for a person living in isolation: Chap. VIII “Property and Community” Online p. 234. This is the fourth and final story about Robinson Crusoe. Another brief reference to Robinson Crusoe. Here Bastiat discusses how the judgement made by consumers of their needs “governs the direction of production” even for a person living in isolation like Crusoe. He chooses whether to spend his time hunting for food or “arranging the feathers of his headdress.”

Et, pour le dire en passant, ceci prouve que ce qui est moral ou immoral, ce n'est pas le travail, mais le désir, et que l'humanité se perfectionne, non par la moralisation du producteur, mais par celle du consommateur. Combien ne s'est-on pas récrié contre les Anglais de ce qu'ils récoltaient de l'opium dans l'Inde avec l'idée bien arrêtée, disait-on, d'empoisonner les Chinois! C'était méconnaître et déplacer le principe de la moralité. Jamais on n'empêchera de produire ce qui, étant recherché, a de la valeur. C'est à celui qui aspire à une satisfaction à en calculer les effets, et c'est bien en vain qu'on essayerait de séparer la prévoyance de la responsabilité. Nos vignerons font du vin et en feront tant qu'il aura de la valeur, sans se mettre en peine de savoir si avec ce vin on s'enivre en France et on se tue en Amérique. C'est le jugement que les hommes portent sur leurs besoins et leurs satisfactions qui décide de la direction du travail. Cela est vrai même de l'homme isolé; et si une sotte vanité eût parlé plus haut que la faim à Robinson, au lieu d'employer son temps à la chasse, il l'eût consacré à arranger les plumes de sa coiffure. De même un peuple sérieux provoque des industries sérieuses, un peuple futile des industries futiles. (Voir chapitre XI.)

And, let us say in passing, this proves that what is moral or immoral is not work but desire and that the human race advances, not by making producers more moral but by making consumers so. How much have we criticized the English because they harvested opium in India with the deliberate and official idea, it was said, of poisoning the Chinese! This was to misunderstand and distort the principle of morality. We will never prevent the production of something that has value because it is sought after. It is up to the person who aspires to enjoy some form of satisfaction to estimate its effects, and in vain will we endeavor to separate foresight from responsibility. Our wine growers produce wine and will produce it as long as it has value, without taking the trouble to ascertain if, with this wine, people become drunk in France, or kill themselves in America. It is the judgement people make of their (own) needs and satisfactions that governs the direction of production. This is true even of men (living) in isolation, and if stupid vanity spoke louder than hunger to Robinson Crusoe, instead of spending his time hunting he would have devoted it to arranging the feathers of his headdress. In the same way, a responsible nation produces responsible industries while a foolish nation produces industries that are foolish.

Bastiat used stories about Robinson Crusoe to establish the foundations of his theory of human action and economics and thus developed interesting ideas about:

• the importance of knowledge
• time preference, e.g. the problems of tool making to increase output in the long run
• that the individual is both a consumer and a producer at the same time
• that individual are rational creatures who wish to economise on their scarce resources such as time and labour
• the importance of accumulating capital (stock of goods) to satisfy future needs
• the nature of opportunity costs when faced with alternate uses for a given good

Some Crusoe Stories post Economic Harmonies

Another economist who made considerable use of "Crusoe economics" in his writing was the American economist Henry C. Carey (1793-1879) who was well known to Bastiat. Carey charged him with plagiarizing his (Carey's) work on "the harmony of interests" which appeared in 1851 (and which Bastiat had seen in manuscript) in his (Bastiat's) Economic Harmonies which appeared in 1850. [302] A study of Carey's writings shows that in his early work Principles of Political Economy (1837-1840) there are no references to Crusoe at all, but in his later Principles of Social Science (1858-1860) there are over a dozen significant references where Carey does employ "Crusoe economics" to make his points. [303] Perhaps here a case might be made that Carey has plagiarized Bastiat. Whatever the merits of the case might be, Bastiat's extensive use of "Crusoe economics" between 1847 and 1850 may well be an original contribution to economic reasoning.  

The Use of Stories in Economic Harmonies↩

Bastiat very successfully used stories, parables, and dialogs to explain economic ideas, especially in his Economic Sophisms, which made him one of the greatest economic journalists and popularizers of economic ideas. He continues this practice in his treatise in which we have counted 55 “economic stories” (34 in EH1 and 18 in EH2, and three in the Taranne Hall lecture which I believe should be considered part of his work in preparing for the treatise).

In Economic Harmonies he continues his practice of using many of these same rhetorical devices to make economic ideas more understandable to the reader but modifies it slightly in order to suit the more serious tone of an economic treatise. Even so, his treatise stands out as most unusual since even in this modified form it is still radically different in style compared to the other economic treatise of his day which were all stolidly serious and prosaic in their form. (Can one imagine John Stuart Mill writing like Bastiat in his very contemporaneous Principles of Political Economy (1848)?) In the treatise he continues to use personal conversations with the reader, conversations between stock characters representing different points of view, invented speeches, Robinson Crusoe thought experiments, and many stories of various kinds and lengths. What he did not use very much, and which were his stock in trade in the more journalistic “economic sophisms,” was humor, satire, and puns and other forms of word play which made the economic sophisms such a joy to read. [304] Bastiat dispenses with the parodies of scenes of famous plays and quoting political or satirical popular songs. However, he does add many more references to popular sayings and the economic meaning they contain, as well as the use of geometrical lines and circles to illustrate his points (which may be a first in an economic treatise). [305]

Bastiat’s use of geometric lines and concentric circles [306] is a very interesting rhetorical device which needs further exploration. Deidre McCloskey would probably see Bastiat’s early use of this (but not mathematics, which would become the dominant rhetorical device of economics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) as “rhetorical” in nature, along with his elaborate physical metaphors of channels, clock mechanisms, basins filled with water, centripetal and centrifugal forces, apparatuses, spheres, and domains and their boundaries. [307]

Here are the images Bastiat uses in Economic Harmonies:

There are 55 instances of different verbal rhetorical devices he uses in Economic Harmonies . Three occur in the Taranne Hall lecture, 34 in EH1, and 18 in the additional chapters added to EH2:

1. a conversation between two individuals who are representatives of different viewpoints (9)
2. a discussion of the ideas behind a popular saying (5)
3. a speech or comment by someone else (4)
4. a speech or statement written by Bastiat (2)
5. a longer story (23)
6. a brief story (4)
7. Robinson Crusoe thought experiments (6 references with 4 main stories)
8. a quotation from a piece of classic French literature (2)

We have given every “economic story” a number. Some references we thought were too short to merit being classified as a separate “story,” for example the very brief reference to Banquo at Macbeth’s feast, [308] a one line reference to Molière’s play Les Femmes savantes, [309] and a reference to Diogenes warming himself in the sunshine. [310] The following is a complete list of all 55 “economic stories” listed by type:

A conversation between two individuals who are representatives of different viewpoints (9):

1. Story 1: A conversation between a free trade candidate and some electors, in “Lecture on Free Trade at Taranne Hall (3 July 1847). “ “the following dialogue between the electors and the candidate” Online
2. Story 32: A conversation about the right to own land and charge rent for its use, between Bastiat and some other “Economists” (those of his colleagues who disagreed with him about seeing rent as another kind of “service” and not as payment for the “productive e power of the soil”), “Socialists” (who think workers are exploited by not having an equal right to the land unless paid compensation in the form of “a right to job”), and “Egalitarians” (who oppose the monopoly landowners have in being paid for what the “earth-tool” produces). In IX “Property in Land” (“Now I call on every attentive reader to say whether this complaint is well founded. … Economists, you say”) p. 262 Online
3. Story 37: A conversation between “someone in the tropics” (who is blessed with the sunshine necessary to produce sugar and cotton) and “someone in Europe” (who has iron and coal mines) on how the upper and lower bounds (price) of a potential transaction are established through negotiation (including the important right of not entering into any exchange if the terms are not favorable). The haggling which goes on before any deal is made will take into account the “trouble taken” and the “trouble saved” by the services offered by each party. In X “Competition” (“For example, someone in the tropics would say to someone in Europe”) p. 300 Online
4. Story 44: A conversation between “Capital” and “Labour” and an “Entrepreneur” on spreading risk and creating some predicability in payment for services rendered over time. Wages arise because the worker prefers to get a guaranteed regular payment for work done (and the factory owner assumes the risk of making sales and covering costs), and interest arises because the entrepreneur prefers to pay a fixed annual amount to the capitalist (and again the factory owner assumes the risk of making greater profits in a good year). In XIV. “On Wages” (“Nothing is simpler than hearing capital say to labor: “Experience has shown us”) p. 381 Online
5. Story 48: Another story about the fall in value of “past labour” where there are two conversations between two individuals about the sale of a piece of old machinery and then the sale of a well-cultivated field. One of the parties wants to be paid for past labour (sunk costs) while the other only wants to pay the current value as determined by the productivity of current labour. In XIV “Wages” (“If you say to me: Here is a machine.”) p. 412 Online
6. Story 49: A conversation between Bastiat, a socialist who follows the “new science” of Victor Considerant, and a worker in Paris chosen at random. Bastiat mocks the socialist by agreeing to destroy all the “damned capital” which has been accumulated over the centuries, then places the worker in this socialist “paradise” and listens to what he has to say. The worker realties that even if he has all 300 million hectares of land in France he canot create all the things he needs and decides he would be better off earning a wage under the old system. In XIV. On”Wages” (“Yes, take the first worker you come across in Paris”) p. 415 Online
7. Story 53: A conversation between various groups who wish to use the power of the state to plunder others for their own benefit. Bastiat shows how deeply embedded the “sophism of the ricochet effect” was in both the wealthy privileged classes and the working class. The argument was that taxes and subsidies which benefitted the wealthy classes would gradually “trickle down” to the poor and benefit them as well. When the working class got access to the French state after the Revolution of February 1848 they tried to turn the table on the rich by arguing that subsidies and benefits to them in the form of free education and free credit would “trickle up” to the wealthy class when the poor bought more clothes made in the capitalist’s factories or meat grown on the landowners farms. In XVII PSPS (““Let us hand over to the wealthy the taxes levied on the poor,””) p. 487 Online
8. Story 54: A conversation between “the reader” who objects again to the excessive optimism of the economists who do not see the poverty and suffering of the people and still want to adhere to a policy of laissez-faire, and Bastiat who rejects this criticism. He argues that harm exists in the world partly through human error and poor judgment (which is self-correctly through the “law of individual responsibility”), and partly through acts of violence which prevent the harmonious laws of society from operating as they should. He argues that war, slavery, plunder, and economic disruption occurs because liberty is prevented from functioning in large parts of society because of coercion (both individual and state supported). In XVIII “Disturbing Factors” (“I can hear the reader cry (out)”) p. 491 Online
9. Story 55: A conversation between an “ignorant person” and an “anatomist” and an “astronomer” concerning Providential intent in the design of the universe and the nature of ultimate causes in explaining phenomena. Given his belief in “harmonious intent” Bastiat seems to be siding with the “ignorant person” and against the “incomplete science” of the anatomist and the astronomer. In XXV. “The Relationships of Political Economy with Morality, with Politics, with Legislation, and with Religion” (“How marvelous it is,” says an ignorant person”) p. 565 Online

A discussion of the ideas behind a popular saying (5):

1. Story 2: A brief reference to a popular saying of the man from Champagne who told his dog: “Poor animal, I have to cut your tail off but do not worry, to spare you suffering I will organize the transition and will only cut a bit off every day.” Origin not known. In “Lecture on Free Trade at Taranne Hall (3 July 1847). Online
2. Story 3: A brief reference to a popular saying by Montaigne “One man’s profit is another man’s loss” which was one of Bastiat’s staples. “Lecture on Free Trade at Taranne Hall (3 July 1847). “you know the old saying: One man’s profit is another man’s loss.” Online
3. Story 14: As he likes to do, Bastiat uses common sayings to help his readers understand complex economic matters. Here he creates his own sayings which he believes “explain why society exists” in the first place: “In isolation, our needs are greater than our capacities” and “Through exchange, our capacities are greater than our needs”; and then two more which he says explain why progress is made possible by trade: “In a state of isolation, the prosperity of one man harms that of others” and “By exchanging with one another, the prosperity of one helps others to prosper.” p. 97 Online
4. Story 27: Here Bastiat cleverly reverses Montaigne’s maxim that “one man’s loss is another man’s gain” to help make his point about the mutually beneficial gains to had from voluntary exchange: “one man’s profit is another man’s profit.” In VI “Wealth” p. 303 “One man’s profit is another man’s profit” p. 187 Online
5. Story 40: Bastiat returns to using a popular saying to make his economic arguments easier for the ordinary reader to understand. The entire chapter is devoted to debunking the economic ideas which lie behind two popular sayings: “one for all and all for one” (expressing socialist or fraternal sentiments) and “everyone for themselves and everyone looking after their own” (expressing selfish and egotistical sentiments). Bastiat defends his view that the pursuit of self-interest leads to satisfying the needs of others, and that people are naturally sociable and do come to each other’s assistance according to his “law of human solidarity.” In XII “Two Sayings” (“Modern moralists who contrast the saying: One for all and all for one with the ancient proverb: Everyone for themselves and everyone looking after their own, are insisting on a very inadequate idea of society”) p. 355 Online

A speech or comment by someone else (4):

1. Story 4: A short speech Bastiat puts into the mouths of the youthful students he is addressing in “To the Youth of France” who might object to the excessive optimism of the economists like Bastiat, who downplay the poverty, injustice, and oppression which afflicts French society, turn a blind eye to the insurrections which disrupted France in 1848, and think that “this is the best of all possible worlds.” In “To the Youth of France” (“Here is a good example,” you will say”) p. 8 Online
2. Story 26: A speech by a landowner who understands that Ricardo’s view of land rent is incorrect and that he and all his ancestors who have worked on and improved the land are not entitled to be reimbursed for those sunk costs (“past labour”) but only for the current services he now provides. In V “Value” (“We have prepared services and ask to exchange these for equivalent services”) p. 168 Online
3. Story 35: A speech by an opponent of Bastiat’s theory of property rights in land. The critic points out that land prices are different across France and often reflect the differing fertility and productiveness of the land, that the value of the land reflects its future earning capacity, and thus the land does have an “intrinsic value” which bastiat denies. In IX “Property in Land” (“Your theory is belied by the facts”) p. 284 Online
4. Story 51: Some advice given by “an old priest” to a family with a daughter of child bearing age. He urges them to encourage her to delay marriage until at least 25 and to wait for a suitor who can support her financially since a “marriage in poverty brings a great deal of suffering.” The father replies with a quote from the Bible about the commandment by God to “go forth and multiply.” The economist Bastiat reminds us that both the priest and the girl’s father ignore the fact that mankind is “perfectible” and able to increase production and general wealth to avoid these social and economic problems. In XVI “On Population” (““Hide your daughter,” the old priest will say”) p. 439 Online

A speech or statement written by Bastiat (2):

1. Story 5: Bastiat writes and recites his own “credo” modeled on that of the Christian’s in which he sums up the ideas he will put forward in the book: that Providence or “He” has arranged the social and economic world to benefit humans, has created economic laws which enable mankind to prosper and progress indefinitely, and has ensured the classes will gradually rise up to a common, higher standard of living. He concludes by reaffirming his faith in liberty and the inherent harmony of interests. In “To the Youth of France” (“I believe, not with a faith that is submissive and blind”) p. 14 Online
2. Story 15: A fictitious speech Bastiat would have given if he had been the head of the new Republican government which had come to power in February 1848. In it he outlines his vision of a government with very limited powers; which will respect all individuals’ right to life, liberty, and property; and will not grant any favors to any vested interest groups. Bastiat’s speech is followed soon afterwards by an anguished reply by “the people” who were afraid of being responsible for themselves. p. 102 Online

A longer story (23):

1. Story 6: This story of the village carpenter is Bastiat’s version of Leonard Read’s story of “I, Pencil” (1958) on the interconnectedness of economic activity, on international trade, and the division of labour. In I. “Natural and Artificial Organisation” (“Let us take a man who belongs to a modest class in society, a village carpenter”) p. 17 Online
2. Story 7: A story about a "simple student" living in Paris who is taking advantage of exchanges and savings done in the past by many people, most unknown to him. Later, he will begin making deposits to this “social milieu” (or social bank) in the form of services he renders to others and savings of his own. In I. “Natural and Artificial Organisation.” (“Let me assume that he is a simple student.”) p. 19 Online
3. Story 8: A story about a “rough and hard-working artisan" who, after having satisfied one need, then moves on to satisfying the next need on his list of further needs, thus resulting in the steady improvement of mankind. In III. “On the Needs of Man” (“take this rough and hard-working artisan”). p. 54 Online
4. Story 18: A brief story about how something which in one context is a “gratuitous utility” (i.e. free of charge, like the air we breathe) can become an “onerous utility” (bears a cost) in another context. Here it is the costly, provision of air being pumped into a diving bell, and how the two parties come to agree on a price for this service. In V. “On Value.” (“But if someone dives to the bottom of a river in a diving bell”) p. 118 Online
5. Story 19: A story about how Bastiat and his neighbour reach a voluntary agreement about fetching water from a spring. In return for his neighbor fetching the water (and thus saving Bastiat the trouble of doin so), Bastiat offers in return the “equivalent” service of teaching his neighbor’s child how to spell. In V. “On Value.” (“However, since my neighbor also goes to the spring, I say to him: “Save me the trouble of making the journey.”) p. 123 Online
6. Story 20: A story about Bastiat walking by the seaside where he discovers a diamond. He then enters a conversation with someone who wants to buy it and they discuss the “utility” of the diamond, its “value,” the amount of labour it took to find it, and the service Bastiat provides in selling it. In V “On Value.” (“I am walking by the seaside. By good fortune I come across a superb diamond.“) p. 124 Online
7. Story 21: A story about two men who reach an agreement on supplying each other with ice in the summer and coal in the winter. The value of each good lies in the physical properties of the ice and the coal, but their value lies in the “equivalent” service each man provides to the other. In V. “On Value” (”Two men consider that ice is a good thing in the summer and coal better in winter.”) p. 129 Online
8. Story 22: A story about a group of people on a beach who cooperate in providing each other with defence. By means of the division of labour those who are more skilled with weapons will specialist in providing the “productive” service of defence to the others. The price of this service will be freely negotiated by al the parties involved. In V. On Value (”A certain number of people land on an inhospitable beach”) p. 131 Online
9. Story 23: A story about a wealthy banker in Paris who employs the outstanding opera singer Malibran and the actress Rachel to perform for his guests at his private soirée. Bastiat discusses how the parties negotiate terms for the performances, i.e. haggle over the price. The rarity of their talent is a key factor. In V. “On Value” (“We are in Paris. In this huge metropolis a great number of desires are bubbling to the surface”) p. 132 Online
10. Story 24: A story of an old priest who enters a town in order to help a young inexperienced priest fulfill his duties. The question is, what services does he provide to the community (enlightenment and moral guidance) and how he is paid for those services (voluntary donations by some wealthy parishioners). In V. “On Value” (“Let us imagine an old priest who walks along pensively, his stick in his hand, and breviary under his arm.”) p. 134 Online
11. Story 25: A story about Jean and Pierre and the manufacture of pottery mugs. Pierre uses foresight to anticipate Jean’s need for a mug in the future and goes about manufacturing mugs. There is also a discussion of Bastiat’s distinction between facio ut facias (I do (something) for you so that you may do (something) for me) but facio ut des (I do (something). In V. “On Value” (”Jean says to Pierre: “I would like a new mug.”) p. 163 Online
12. Story 29: A story about “a modest labourer” who buys a pair of socks which cost half a day’s pay. Bastiat points out that the labourer could never make a pair of socks himself from scratch but depends upon the productivity of previously accumulated capital, the use of which requires the payment of interest. Bastiat concludes that, to outlaw the payment of interest (as the socialists were demanding), would mean workers like the “modest labourer” would have do do without socks or make them himself. In VII “Capital” (“Take a modest laborer who earns four francs a day. With two francs, that is to say, half a day’s work, he buys a pair of cotton socks.”) p. 202 Online
13. Story 33: A long story about “Brother Jonathan” who moves from New York to go to the Far West to buy land in Arkansas. Jonathan has false ideas about “the natural and indestructible power of the soil” which he got from reading Adam Smith and David Ricardo and which he slowly comes to realize are incorrect as he goes about producing and selling food and buying and selling land. He eventually tries to organise the other landowners to seize control of the state legislature in order to grant themselves a monopoly in owning land in order to drive up their profits, and thus become plunderers. In IX “Property in Land” (”Brother Jonathan, a hard-working water-carrier”) p. 263 Online
14. Story 36: This is another story about a water carrier. Here Bastiat explores why “value” fluctuates, first by using the story of the water carrier and then applying the same principle to the fluctuating value of land. The value of the water carried yesterday will drop if it rains heavily today. On the other hand, if exceptional needs arise (not specified here by Bastiat) the value of the water will rise. The point Bastiat is making is the the value does not lie in the water itself but in the “service” it provides. In IX “Property in Land” (“Let us return once more to the particular industry, the simplest of all, and the most suited to showing us the delicate point that separates work that has to be paid for and the contribution made by nature free of charge. I refer to the humble job of water-carrier.”) p. 287 Online
15. Story 38: An amusing story of a “bizarre transaction” in reverse. This is another example of Bastiat using the reductio ad absurdum approach to refute his opponents. He makes fun of the socialists’ opposition to two parties to an exchange engaging in a voluntary negotiation. He creates a conversation between a buyer and a seller who do not pursue their own self-interest but the interest of the other party, thus reversing the situation with amusing effect. In XI. “Producer - Consumer” (“Will the negotiation take place in reverse, with the buyer taking the side of the seller wholeheartedly and vice versa? You have to admit that the transactions would be very amusing.”) p. 340 Online
16. Story 39: A story about Jean, who represents all producers, and who invents a new industrial process which enables him to produce a good with half the labour it took before. So long as his industrial “secret” remains a secret he will make a lot of money. Bastiat uses this to show how Smith and the other supporters of the “labour theory of value” are wrong, as Jean gets more value by using less labor by using his new invention. Gradually knowledge of the new industrial process is learned by other producers and Jean’s higher profits diminish as a result of competition, thus benefiting all consumers. This story is significant because Bastiat uses geometric lines to illustrate his story. In XI. “Producer - Consumer” (“Let us suppose that Jean, the producer of IB, discovers a process by which he accomplishes his work with half the labor that he needed before”) p. 343 Online
17. Story 41: Another story about a “squatter” going to the Far West of America in search of land to farm. He begins by being completely isolated but as more settlers come they demonstrate their natural sociability and need for community by clustering together to take advantage of the benefits of the division of labour, cooperation, and mutual defence and protection. In XII. “Two Sayings” (“And see how things happen. A squatter goes and clears some land in the Far West.”) p. 356 Online
18. Story 42: A story about the famous vineyard “le Clos Vougeot” with a discussion between Bastiat and a buyer which involves the difference in value between “past labour” and “present value.” Normally, “past labour” in the form of a piece of industrial machinery or a cleared and cultivated piece of land, drops in value as a result of deterioration and loss of fertility. In a few circumstances the reverse happens, as with the rare wines produced by the Clos Vougeot vineyard. The service provided by keeping good wine for a long time is very great and the person doing this is suitably rewarded, thus reversing the general principle about “past labour.” In XIII. “On Rent” (“Twenty years ago, I made a thing that took me one hundred days of work. I propose an exchange and say to my buyer: “Give me something that costs you one hundred days as well.””) p. 367 Online
19. Story 43: A story about a group of men each of whom own houses and agree to form an ”association” to protect themselves from the risk of fire. They begin by agreeing to raise money to rebuild the house of one of the group if it burns done. The next step as the group grows in size is to contract with a third party (an entrepreneur or a company) which specializes in insuring risk for a set annual premium. This provides all the members with the certainly of a fixed price and limited responsibility. The third stage is for insurance companies all over the world to mutually reinsure each other to spread the risk even further. In XIV “On Wages” (“A group of men each has a house.”) p. 372 Online
20. Story 45: A story about the fears of a “young and sturdy worker” who worries about falling sick or looking after himself in his old age. Bastiat takes these fears of the working class very seriously and his solution is the creation of “self-help” or mutual aid societies modeled on those in England which can provide health and retirement savings services. In XIV “On Wages” (“But let us put ourselves in the shoes of a worker or an artisan who, on awakening each morning, is haunted by the following thought:” p. 394 Online
21. Story 46: A two-part story about two fishermen who reach an agreement on how to share the proceeds of their catch and the introduction of wages. The older fisherman who has the capital (nets, boats) negotiates with the young fisherman who only has his labour to offer. They begin with a “share-cropping” arrangement where the young fisherman gets a share of a sometimes uncertain catch, but later move to a fixed and more certain wage. If ever this arrangement becomes no longer is suitable, either party can withdraw from the agreement and be no worse off than when they started. In XIV. “On Wages” (“One day, the old fisherman said to his comrade:”) Part 2 “Let us recall the example I gave a moment ago. Two men were reduced to fishing in order to live” p. 400 Online
22. Story 50: A story about a “service provider” who is a “thrifty soul” and a “third party” (a bank). The service provider is willing to render his service immediately but is happy to receive a service in return (payment) in ten years time. The bank negotiates for the right to this and agrees to repay the “service provider” the full amount plus interest in ten years time. In XV "On Saving" (“Let us say a man provides a service now”) p. 419 Online
23. Story 52: A story in which Bastiat uses the image of a basin or reservoir with moveable walls being filled by a river of water, to explain how the standard of living of ordinary people is influenced by increases in population. The river represents the ever increasing amount of wealth being produced in a free and prosperous society. The walls of the basin represent the size of the population at any give time and the depth of the reservoir represents the standard of living of the people. If the distance between the walls (the size of the population) increases faster than the amount of water flowing into the basin (wealth), the depth of the water in the basin will drop (lower standard of living). And vice versa. In XVI. “On Population” (“Let us imagine a basin in which a channel that is growing ever wider brings in water that is ever more abundant.”) p. 448 Online

A brief story (4):

1. Story 12: A very brief story about ten families and how the division of labour and exchange enables them to share the use of one plough (or other capital goods) instead of each family having to own their own. In IV. Exchange. (“Let us imagine a small population made up of ten families”) p. 86 Online
2. Story 13: A brief story of a doctor who provides services to his patients and instead of receiving other services in exchange through direct barter is paid in precious metals which is a more efficient form of “indirect barter.” In IV. Exchange (“Let us take a doctor, for example”) p. 89 Online
3. Story 34: A brief story which is literally about a “life-boat” situation in which a ship in the middle of the ocean only has enough food for two weeks and it four weeks away from land. It is a continuation of his discussion about food supply and the limits to population growth which he discusses in more detail in XIV “On Population.” The relevance of this problem here is Bastiat’s view that only private property in land, and the greater productivity this creates in food production, is the best solution to the “life-boat” problem. In IX “Property in Land” (“Supposing there is a ship in the middle of the ocean that is a month away from land, and in which there is food and drink for just two weeks, what should be done?”) p. 274 Online
4. Story 47: Some questions a worker should and should not ask himself when thinking about his relationship with a capitalist and how much he gets paid for his labour. He should not ask himself if he he gets paid as much as he would like, but whether or not he would be better off working by himself in a state of isolation where there was no capital or stay employed with the good chance that as more capital is accumulated his productivity will rise and thus his future wages as well. In XIV. “On Wages” (“The questions that the worker should ask himself are not the following”) p. 408 Online

Robinson Crusoe thought experiments (6 references with 4 main stories):

1. Story 9: A brief reference to the economic problems faced by a “a man living in isolation” who needs to save some of the food he has hunted if he wishes to build and accumulate capital. Elsewhere he will use the story of Robinson Crusoe in quite elaborate “thought experiments” to explore this much further. In III. “On the Needs of Man” (“Let us go back and imagine a man living in isolation and reduced to living by hunting.” p. 70 Online
2. Story 10: Bastiat introduces the reader to the story of Robinson Crusoe for the first time in EH (he will do so four times). He sets up the thought experiment by bringing him into the discussion in order to show a “man overcoming the difficulties of absolute solitude by his sheer energy, industriousness, and intelligence.” In IV. Exchange: “In a novel with a matchless capacity for charming children from one generation to the next” p. 79 Online
3. Story 16: The first story about Robinson Crusoe deals with his interest in overcoming obstacles to satisfying his needs, which is contrasted with the protectionists who demand more obstacles in the mistaken belief that more labor means more wealth. In IV. “Exchange”. (“The relationship between these four elements, need, obstacle, effort, and satisfaction are perfectly visible and understandable in men living in isolation.“ p.111 Online
4. Story 28: The second story about Robinson Crusoe. Here we follow Crusoe’s thinking about why he would want to make a tool, or a “capital good” (how much more productive it will make him in the future) and how he will go about doing so (the time it will take to make, the stock of food he will have to accumulate and put aside to consume while making the tool). In VII. “Capital” (“No man wants to waste his strength for the pleasure of wasting it. Our Robinson Crusoe will therefore not devote himself to manufacturing a tool unless he perceives in the end a clear saving of effort”) p. 189 Online
5. Story 30: The third story about Robinson Crusoe. A brief reference to Robinson Crusoe in a discussion of how, once he has used a tool to better satisfy one need, he uses the time thus freed up to satisfy the next need in his hierarchy of needs. In VIII “Property and Community” (“Scarcely had Robinson Crusoe made nature take over part of his labor than he devoted this portion to new enterprises.”) p. 230 Online
6. Story 31: The fourth and final story about Robinson Crusoe. Another brief reference to Robinson Crusoe. Here Bastiat discusses how the judgement made by consumers of their needs “governs the direction of production” even for a person living in isolation like Crusoe. He chooses whether to spend his time hunting for food or “arranging the feathers of his headdress.” In VIII “Property and Community” (“This is true even of men (living) in isolation, and if stupid vanity spoke louder than hunger to Robinson Crusoe, instead of spending his time hunting he would have devoted it to arranging the feathers of his headdress.”) p. 234 Online

A quotation from a piece of classic French literature (2):

1. Story 11: He quotes an amusing passage from Molière’s play Le malade imaginaire (The Hypocondriac) (1673) on the narcotic properties of opium in order to argue that Condillac’s argument that each party to an exchange profits is a tautology. In IV. Exchange. “This was how the “Imaginary Invalid” explained the narcotic property of opium” p. 81 Online
2. Story 17: Bastiat quotes a poem by Jean-Pierre Florian about how cooperation between “The Blind Man and the Cripple” helps them solve their problems. In this case by means of the division of labour. In V. “On Value.” (“It is rather strange that the true theory of value that one can look for in vain in many a heavy tome, is to be found in the delightful little fable by Florian entitled “The Blind Man and the Cripple”) p. 188 Online

Conclusion↩

In this paper I have attempted to show how one economist used language and literature in creative and amusing ways to assist him in defending free trade and free markets from their intellectual and political opponents in France during the 1840s. The economic journalism which Frédéric Bastiat produced at this time is some of the best ever written and is still a model for economists today.

He developed a unique and effective style for the articulation of his ideas about liberty (which we have termed here a "rhetoric of liberty") in which Bastiat made considerable use of what he called "the sting of ridicule" to achieve his ends.

He used humour, sarcasm, parody, and puns in order to make the articulation of economic ideas less "dry and dull".

He urged the use of "harsh language" in order to expose the vested interests of his day which benefited from state intervention and cloaked their activities from the public with "sophisms" in order to confuse and deceive the public.

He used a wide variety of formats and styles to present his ideas such as the constructed dialog and the "economic tale" which he refined or perhaps even invented.

He used literature, poetry, songs, and plays to help him make economic notions more approachable to a broad audience.

His knowledge of both high and low French culture and literature was extensive, drawing upon the plays of Molière and the fables of La Fontaine at one end of the spectrum, as well as the political drinking songs and poems of Béranger at the other.

In addition to being able to draw upon literature to illustrate his economic argument, Bastiat also had considerable skill in creating new formats with which to popularise economic ideas, such as dialogs, mini-plays, fake letters and petitions to government officials, economic tales or fables, parodies of classic works, utopian and dystopian stories of the future, and satirical poems. When mixed with his sharp humor, his puns, and sense of the absurd Bastiat created a unique "rhetoric of liberty" in order to fight his ideological battles against protectionism, socialism, and state privileges which enabled some favoured groups to benefit from their plundering of the tax-payers.

These are all examples of Bastiat's use of "literature in economics".

In addition to the above, Bastiat was able to turn economics into a form of literature, or "economic stories" of his own creation. Two of Bastiat's contributions to this genre should be noted in particular. Firstly, his use of the folk character Jacques Bonhomme, or the French everyman, who became an important character in many of his stories where he defended economic liberty as only a wiley French peasant or artisan could do, and who then became Bastiat's virtual alter ego during the most violent and revolutionary phase of the 1848 Revolution.

And secondly, Bastiat's use of Robinson Crusoe from Defoe's novel to invent an entirely knew way of doing economics - "Crusoe economics" - which was a major innovation in the way economists think about how individuals make economic decisions and which later became the foundation of "praxeology" in the Austrian school of economic theory. In this latter case, we can see Bastiat turning economics into a kind of literature, or "economics as literature."

In both cases, "literature in economics" and "economics as literature", Bastiat was an innovator and created something which had never been done successfully before.

All of this demonstrates that Bastiat deserves his reputation as one of the most gifted writers on economic matters. His skill at mixing serious and amusing ways of making his arguments is unsurpassed; the quality of his insights into profound economic issues are often exceptional; his ability to combine his political lobbying for the Free Trade Movement, his journalism, his political activities during the Revolution, and his scholarly activities is most unusual; and his humour, wit, and literary knowledge which he scatters throughout his writings is a constant joy to read and appreciate. He truly was and continues to be one of a kind.

 

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Appendix 1: A List of the Sophisms by Type of Sophism/Fallacy being Opposed↩

Introduction

We have identified a total of 87 individual sophisms which Bastiat wrote between 1845 and 1850. There were 22 plus an Introduction and Conclusion in ES1 (published in January 1846); 17 in ES2 (published in January 1848); 28 in our edition of ES3 (published in journals like Le Libre-Échange, La République française, Jacques Bonhomme, or unpublished papers found by his literary executors after his death); the 12 chapters of WSWNS plus an Introduction (published in July 1850); and five "political sophisms" written at various times.

When one surveys these sophisms a small number of general categories of "Sophisms" and "Fallacies" emerge. These general categories are distinguished from each other by a common set of arguments or subject matter. Each one of these general categories includes a larger number of specific examples which Bastiat dealt with in his writings. A summary list of each kind is as follows:

Sophisms

1. Sophism No. 1: “The Seen and the Unseen”
2. Sophism No. 2: “Positive and Negative Ricochet Effects”
3. Sophism No. 3: “The Use of Euphemisms and Frightening Language to Make One’s Arguments”

⠀ Fallacies:

1. Fallacy No. 1: “The Interests of the Producers are the Real Interest of the Nation” (not the Interests of the Consumers”
2. Fallacy No. 2: “Real Wealth is measured by the Amount of Labor/Effort expended to Create Goods and Services, not the Total Amount of Goods and Services made available to Consumers”
3. Fallacy No. 3: “Free Trade harms the Interests of the Nation”
4. Fallacy No. 4: “The State can and should provide for the Needs of the People”
5. Fallacy No. 5: Other General Economic Fallacies

⠀ Under the general categories of Sophisms listed above, this is a list of the specific types of sophism which Bastiat confronted in his writings:

Sophism No. 1: “The Seen and the Unseen”

The sophistry typically occurs when only “the seen” and immediate consequences of an economic action are discussed. The less immediate and sometimes delayed “unseen” consequences are usually ignored completely. “The Seen and the Unseen” is probably Bastiat's best known sophism which states that economic events are complex and that there are two aspects which a good economist must take into account: the readily apparent, visible consequences of an economic act which are there for everybody to see; as well as, and perhaps most importantly, the secondary, related consequences of an economic act which are hidden or not seen at the time it occurs, but which will inevitably follow (and can be foreseen by a good economist).

The entire collection known as WSWNS illustrates this sophism in various ways: WSWNS “Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas” (What is Seen and What is Not Seen) [july 1850]. See in particular:

1. The Story of the Broken Window: the sophism is that the destruction of property leads to greater sales and production which increases a nation's wealth. Individual producers in a given industry may benefit from selling replacements for destroyed property but the overall economy loses on net balance because wealth is destroyed or redistributed.
   1. WS.01 "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window); CQV 1, pp. 5-8 Online; OC5, pp. 337-40 Online; CW3, pp. 405-7..
2. That "Sacking Large Numbers of Government Employees will cause Economic Chaos": this is the idea that if a free market economic reformer was able to sack large numbers of government employees (Bastiat likes using the example of sacking 1/4 of the entire army in one hit) then there would be massive unemployment, loss of wages, collapse of the small businesses which supply the government workers and their families with food and other supplies, and a general economic recession. This is also an example of a NRE (negative ricochet effect). Bastiat argues that this is all that is immediately seen and ignores things which are "unseen", namely the resulting lower taxation which leaves more money in the pockets of taxpayers, the greater spending power these taxpayers then have to make purchases they were not able to before, this stimulates the businesses who sell them these additional things, which in turn stimulates production to supply these businesses with goods, and so on in a PRE (positive ricochet effect). The issue is to consider "net benefits" to an entire society, not the losses or benefits to a subsection of that society.
   1. WS.02 "Le licenciement" (Dismissing Members of the Armed Forces); CQV 2, pp. 9-13 Online; OC5, pp. 340-43 Online; CW3, pp. 407-10.
3. That "Taxes are a Good Investment": the idea that taxes spent by the government are a good investment in "society" because they provide jobs for government workers, wages which feed and clothe their families, sales to the local businesses which provide those families with food and clothing, and so on. This is an example of the PRE (positive ricochet effect). This what is seen. What is not seen are the alternative uses those taxes would have put to by tax payers if they had been allowed to keep their own money. See "Sacking of Government Employees Fallacy" above.
   1. WS.03 "L'impôt" (Taxes); CQV 3, pp. 13-18 Online; OC5, pp. 343-47 Online; CW3, pp. 410-13.
4. That the "Government provides Society with lots of Useful Services": the idea that the government provides its citizens with many useful services which could not be provided on the free market. Bastiat argues that the government is expensive and inefficient in providing these services, that it takes a cut for itself for a host of unnecessary or even harmful activities (e.g. luxurious living of high government officials), that it does not take into account the needs or wishes of the citizens when deciding how to supply these services, that the government bureaucracies which provide and supervise these services is a vested interest in itself which is usually antagonistic (in opposition to) the consumers, that apart from a very small number of services which governments should provide (police, defence, and limited public goods like roads) everything else should be provided voluntarily by the market.
   1. WS.03 "L'impôt" (Taxes); CQV 3, pp. 13-18 Online; OC5, pp. 343-47 Online; CW3, pp. 410-13.

⠀

Sophism No. 2: “Positive and Negative Ricochet Effects”

This is a variation of “the seen and the unseen” sophism mentioned above. It deserves a separate category because of its underlying insight into the complex interconnectedness of all economic activity which was one of Bastiat’s key contributions to economic analysis. The difficulty for the economist is to understand the depth of the “ricochet effect” and how to determine the net effect of both Negative Ricochet Effects" (NRE) and Positive Ricochet Effects (PRE) on the economy.

Bastiat never got around to writing a Sophism on this topic although he expressed a strong wish to do so. See above for a discussion of this.

1. The Idea of the Double Incidence of Loss (an example of a "Negative Ricochet" Effect): that claims that tariffs result in a profit for one industry hides the fact that two other groups suffer losses: an equal loss for another industry and an equal loss for the consumer, resulting in a net "double incidence of loss" to the nation as a whole.
   1. ES3.04 "Un profit contre deux pertes" (One Profit against Two Losses) Le Libre-Échange, 9 May 1847, no. 24, p. 192; OC2.57, pp. 377-84 Online; CW3 ES3.04, pp. 271-76.
   2. ES3.07 "Deux pertes contre un profit. À M. Arago, de l’Académie des Sciences" (Two Losses against One Profit) Le Libre-Échange, 30 May 1847, no. 27, pp. 215-16; OC2.58, pp. 384-91 Online; CW3 ES3.07, pp. 287-93.
   3. WS.07 "Restriction" (Trade Restrictions); CQV 7, pp. 40-47 Online; OC5, pp. 363-68 Online; CW3, pp. 427-32.
2. That Protectionism allows high wages to be paid to workers: that protection permits industry to charge higher prices for its goods and thus raise wages for its employees. Some workers in protected industries might get higher wages but the cost of things they buy are also higher because of other protected industries and the generally higher prices this causes throughout the economy.
   1. ES1.12 "La protection élève-t-elle le taux des salaires?" (Does Protection increase the Rate of Pay?) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 12, pp. 96-192; SE1 12, pp. 96-192 Online; OC4, pp. 74-79 Online; CW3 ES1.12, pp. 64-69.
   2. ES2.05 "Cherté, bon marché" (High Prices and Low Prices) Le Libre-Échange, 25 July 1847, no. 35, pp. 273-74; SE2 5, pp. 49-58 Online; OC4, pp. 163-73 Online; CW3 ES2.05, pp. 146-54.
3. The "Ricochet" or Positive Trickle Down Effect: that the high prices of products caused by tariff protection will "trickle down" to benefit workers, through higher wages, and the government, through more taxes. [an instance of the wswns fallacy]. There are "negative ricochet effects" (NRE) as well as "positive ricochet effects" (PRE). Protectionists exaggerate PRE and ignore NRE. Bastiat himself argues that free trade, increased markets, and more industry has PRE. The hard economic problem is to assess the “net” gains or losses to the economy.
   1. ES2.04 "Conseil inférieur du travail)" (The Lower Council of Labor) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 4, pp. 44-48; SE2 4, pp. 44-48 Online; OC4, pp. 160-63 Online; CW3 ES2.04, pp. 142-46.
   2. ES2.12 "Le sel, la poste et la douane" (Salt, the Mail, and the Customs Service) Journal des Économistes, May 1846, T. XIV, no. 54, pp. 142-152; SE2 12., pp. 112-133 Online; OC4, pp. 213-29 Online; CW3 ES2.12, pp. 198-214.
   3. ES3.12 "L’indiscret. - Questions sur les effets des restrictions" (The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions Le Libre-Échange, 12 Dec. 1847, no. 3 (2nd year), p. 20; OC2.65, pp. 435-46 Online; CW3 ES3.12, pp. 309-18.
   4. ES3.20 "Monita secreta" (The Secret Handbook) Le Libre-Échange, 20 Feb. 1848, no. 13 (2nd year), pp. 75-76; OC2.67, pp. 452-58 Online; CW3 ES3.20, pp. 371-77.
   5. WS.03 "L'impôt" (Taxes); CQV 3, pp. 13-18 Online; OC5, pp. 343-47 Online; CW3, pp. 410-13.
4. That "Luxurious Living stimulates Industry, and that Hoarding/Saving harms Industry": that a private individual or a senior government official who is a big spender stimulates industry and high wages by giving work to builders, restaurants, coach makers and other suppliers of luxury goods; that people who hoard or excessively save their wealth have the opposite effect on the economy. FB uses the "unseen" argument to show that this is not the case, that savings are invested in new production thus increasing output, employment, and living standards for all consumers.
   1. WS.11 "Epargne et Luxe" (Thrift and Luxury); CQV 11, pp. 67-76 Online; OC5, pp. 383-90 Online; CW3, pp. 443-49.

⠀

Sophism No. 3: “The Use of Euphemisms and Frightening Language to Make One’s Arguments”

This is the most “sophistical” of the main categories of sophisms. Bastiat is very aware of the importance of language and the rhetorical purposes to which it can be put by defenders of protectionism and subsidies. He is a very skilled practitioner himself of the rhetorical use of language in the defense of liberty, as is made clear in the Introduction. He is thus very aware of how is opponents also use language to achieve their political and economic purposes.

1. The Sophism of Using Military Metaphors to describe Economic Activity: that it is dangerous to use metaphors drawn from war and the military to describe economic phenomenon as the former acquires wealth for a nation (if at all) through violence, destruction, and killing, while the latter does it by peaceful, voluntary, and mutually beneficial exchange. Some of the offending words are invasion (of foreign goods), flood, tribute (to describe payment for foreign goods), domination (through trade), fight on equal terms, conquer, crush, to be defeated (by one's trade rivals), machines that kill off work. It should be noted that Bastiat himself uses a military metaphor by calling his handbook of refutation “The Little Arsenal of the Free Trader” (ES2 XV)
   1. ES1.22 "Métaphores" (Metaphors) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 22, pp. 152-156; SE1 22, pp. 152-156 Online; OC4, pp. 115-19 Online; CW3 ES1.22, pp. 100-03.
   2. ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; OC4, pp. 189-98 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179.
   3. ES2.17 "Domination par le travail" (Domination through Work) Le Libre-Échange, 14 Feb. 1847, no. 12, pp. 93-94; SE2 17, pp. 182-190 Online; OC4, pp. 265-71 Online; CW3 ES2.17, pp. 248-53.
2. The Euphemism Sophism: that defenders of tariffs and subsidies to industry cloak their demands by using euphemistic language and circumlocution such as "assistance" and "protection". Bastiat urges that this practice be replaced by what he calls "an explosion of plain speaking" where words such as robbery, theft, stealing, thief, filching, swindling, highway robbery, coercion, legal plunder, fraud, trickery, deception, the public being held to ransom. Economists should also get in the habit of asking the government and the special interests which benefit from government regulation, lots of "embarrassing questions" in order to reveal what they are really doing.
   1. ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; OC4, pp. 189-98 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179.
3. The "Free Trade" or "Consumer" Bogey Man Sophism: that some words have acquired strongly negative connotations as a result of criticism by protectionist opponents and that these words are used to frighten ordinary people who do not fully understand what they mean. The word "Free Trade" is associated with Britain which is an "enemy" of France and that supporters of free are "fifth columnists" for Britain. Similarly with the word "consumer" (consumption) which is regarded as selfish, narrow, anti-social, when in fact the opposite is the case. Production for sale and ultimate consumption is a very social and un-selfish activity. Economists need to explain this through their popular writings.
   1. ES3.13 "La peur d’un mot" (The Fear of a Word) Le Libre-Échange, 20 June, 1847, no. 30, pp. 239-40; OC2.59, pp. 392-400 Online; CW3 ES3.13, pp. 318-27.
   2. ES3.17 "Le petit manuel du consommateur ou de tout le monde" (A Little Manual for Consumers, in other words for Everyone) An unpublished draft; OC2.61, pp. 409-15 Online; CW3 ES3.17, pp. 350-55.

⠀ Under the general categories of Fallacies listed above, this is a list of the specific types of fallacy which Bastiat confronted in his writings:

Fallacy No. 1: “The Interests of the Producers are the Real Interest of the Nation” (not the Interests of the Consumers)

The fallacy comes from the belief that the “real interest” of the nation lies in the well-being of the producers not the consumers. Bastiat is of the firm opinion that the producers are there to serve the interests of the consumers which they can do by selling their goods voluntarily on the * free market with no special assistance from the State.

1. The Over-Production Fallacy: that greater abundance leads to lower prices of goods which harms producers and thus harms society. Lower prices may harm some producers but is a great benefit to all consumers. Since producers are also consumers they too benefit from lower prices.
   1. ES1.01 "Abondance, disette" (Economic Sophisms: I Abundance and Scarcity) Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 1-8; SE1 1, pp. 6-18 Online; OC4.1.1, pp. 5-14 Online; CW3 ES1.01, pp. 7-15.
2. The Fairness Fallacy: that it is "unfair" that some producers can supply goods at lower price or higher quality than others and that therefore legislators should "level the playing" field (by means of subsidies, prohibitions, and tariffs) to protect national production.
   1. ES1.04 "Egaliser les conditions de production" (Economic Sophisms (cont): IV Equalizing the Conditions of Production) Journal des Économistes, July 1845, T.11, no. 44, p. 345-56; SE1 4, pp. 35-57 Online; OC4.1.4, pp. 27-45 Online; CW3 ES1.04, pp. 25-39.
3. The Equal Taxation Fallacy: that the nation should impose tariffs on imports from nations which are less heavily taxed in order to protect domestic producers.
   1. ES1.05 "Nos produits sont grevés de taxes" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): V Our Products are weighed down with Taxes) Journal des Économistes, July 1845, T.11, no. 44, p. 356-60; SE1 5, pp. 58-65 Online; OC4.1.5, pp. 46-52 Online; CW3 ES10.5, pp. 39-44.
4. The Candle Makers Sophism: that a nation should protect important domestic industries by imposing tariffs on low cost foreign producers which will result in increased domestic production, employment, and taxation; that the well-being of producers is more important for the nation than the well-being of consumers.
   1. ES1.07 "Pétition des fabricants de chandelles, etc." (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VII. Petition by the Manufacturers of Candles, etc.) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 204-07; SE1 7, pp. 72-78 Online; OC4.7, pp. 57-62 Online; CW3 ES1.07, pp. 49-53.
5. The Productionist "Cart before the Horse" Fallacy: that the purpose of human life is to produce/work not to consume, therefore anything which promotes production is good, and anything which makes consumption easier/cheaper is bad. Bastiat argues that the Economists believe it is the other way around, the purpose of human life is to satisfy an increasing number of human needs as efficiently and cheaply as possible.
   1. ES3.02 "Deux principes: le but du travail et de la production" (Two Principles: The Goal of Work and of Production) Le Libre-Échange, 7 Feb. 1847, no. 11, p. 88; OC2.54, pp. 363-70 Online; CW3 ES3.02, pp. 261-68.
6. That "Only Specialists in an Industry know what is best for that Industry" Fallacy: that only people with expert knowledge of an industry, usually acquired by working in that industry, know what legislation is best for that industry and therefore should be consulted on tariff policy by the government. FB says the exact opposite is the case because they have a vested interest in protecting themselves against foreign competition and this works against the interests of consumers.
   1. ES3.11 "Les hommes spéciaux" (The Specialists) Le Libre-Échange, 28 Nov. 1847, no. 1 (2nd year), p. 7; OC2,56, pp. 373-77 Online; CW3 ES3.11, pp. 305-08.

⠀

Fallacy No. 2: “Real Wealth is measured by the Amount of Labor/Effort expended to Create Goods and Services, not the Total Amount of Goods and Services made available to Consumers”

The fallacy comes from the belief that since labour is used to produce wealth then a nation’s wealth can be increased by increasing the amount of labour it takes to produce things. Bastiat’s response is to argue that real increases in wealth are the result of greater output which comes from the greater productivity created by human invention, machinery, or better organization. Thus more can be produced with less effort or labour, which are then freed up for other productive purposes.

1. The Negative Railway Fallacy: that impediments/obstacles to or increasing the costs of transport leads to more jobs and thus increases a nation's wealth.
   1. ES1.16 "Les fleuves obstrués plaidant pour les prohibitionistes" (Blocked Rivers pleading in favor of the Prohibitionists) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 16, pp. 120-121; SE1 16, pp. 120-121 Online; OC4, pp. 92-93 Online; CW3 ES1.16, pp. 80-81.
   2. ES1.17 "Un chemin de fer négatif" (A Negative Railway) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 17, pp. 122-123; SE1 17, pp. 122-123 Online; OC4, pp. 93-94 Online; CW3 ES1.17, pp. 81-83.
   3. ES2.07 "Conte chinois" (A Chinese Tale) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 7, pp. 72-78; SE2 7, pp. 72-78 Online; OC4, pp. 182-87 Online; CW3 ES2.07, pp. 163-67.
   4. ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.
   5. ES3.09 "Remonstrance" (A Complaint) Le Libre-Échange, 5 Sept. 1847, no. 41, p. 328; OC2.62, pp. 415-18 Online; CW3 ES3.09, pp. 296-99.
   6. ES3.18 "Le maire d’Énios" (The Mayor of Énios) Le Libre-Échange, 6 Feb. 1848, no. 11 (2nd year), pp. 63-64; OC2.63, pp. 418-29 Online; CW3 ES3.18, pp. 355-65.
2. The Sisyphus Fallacy: that the greater the effort expended to produce something, the greater is an individual's or the nation's wealth.
   1. ES1.03 "Effort, résultat" (Economic Sophisms: III Effort and Result) Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 10-16; SE1 3, pp. 24-34 Online; OC4.1.3, pp. 19-27 Online; CW3 ES1.03, pp. 18-24.
   2. ES3.01 "Recettes protectionnistes" (Recipes for Protectionism) Le Libre-Échange, 27 Dec. 1846, no. 5, p. 40; OC2.53, pp. 358-63 Online; CW3 ES3.01, pp. 257-61.
3. The Robison Crusoe and the Plank Fallacy: that the greater the effort expended to produce something, the greater is an individual's or the nation's wealth.
   1. ES2.14 "Autre chose" (Something Else) Le Libre-Échange, 21 March 1847, no. 17, pp. 135-36; SE2 14, pp. 150-162 Online; OC4, pp. 241-51 Online; CW3 ES2.14, pp. 226-34.
4. The Fallacy of the Benefits of Left-Handed Labor (Sinistrists)): that the greater the effort expended to produce something, the greater is an individual's or the nation's wealth.
   1. ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Dec. 1846, no. 3, p. 24; SE2 16, pp. 172-181 Online; OC4, pp. 258-65 Online; CW3 ES2.16, pp. 140-48.
5. The Nominal Prices Fallacy: that wealth can be measured by the rise or fall of absolute or nominal prices and not by improvements in the purchasing power of money.
   1. ES1.11 "Prix absolus" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): XI. Nominal Prices) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 213-15; SE1 11, pp. 81-95 Online; OC4.11, pp. 70-74 Online; CW3 ES1.11, pp. 61-64.
6. The Luddite Fallacy: that machines which replace human labor because they are more productive should be smashed in order to protect the standard of living of the national workforce. Bastiat argues that many of the considerable benefits of machines to all consumers are examples of what is "unseen" by most observers, namely greater productivity, lower prices for all consumers including machine workers.
   1. ES1.20 "Travail humain, travail national" (Human Labor and Domestic Labor) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 20, pp. 132-138; SE1 20, pp. 132-138 Online; OC4, pp. 100-5 Online; CW3 ES1.20, pp. 88-92.
   2. WS.08 "Les machines" (Machines); CQV 8, pp. 47-55 Online; OC5, pp. 368-75 Online; CW3, pp. 432-36.
7. The Superiority of Manufactured Goods Fallacy: that manufactured good are superior to other areas of production, such as raw materials, and therefore should be protected by low (or no) tariffs on imported raw materials used in their production, and that foreign competition in these same manufactured goods be kept out or highly taxed.
   1. ES1.21 "Matières premières" (Raw Materials) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 21, pp. 139-151; SE1 21, pp. 139-151 Online; OC4, pp. 105-15 Online; CW3 ES1.21, pp. 92-10.
8. The Fallacy of the Benefits of the Blunt Axe: [a version of the sisyphus fallacy] that a worker (or a nation) can be better off if he uses more labor to produce a good than if it can do so more efficiently with less labor (effort); also a version of the Unseen Fallacy, that the labour (or costs) saved will be diverted to some other good or line of production, thus expanding demand and output.
   1. ES2.03 "Les deux haches" (The Two Axes) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 3, pp. 39-43; SE2 3, pp. 39-43 Online; OC4, pp. 156-59 Online; CW3 ES2.03, pp. 138-42.

⠀

Fallacy No. 3: “Free Trade harms the Interests of the Nation”

The fallacy comes from the belief that artificial lines drawn on a map have any relevance in determining the wealth or poverty of a particular group of people who call themselves “a nation.” Bastiat believes that there are only individuals who are producers and consumers (usually both at the same time) separated by various distances and climates, each of whom has different sets of skills, knowledge, and interests. Free Trade is just the collective noun to describe the voluntary and mutually beneficial exchanges between different individuals. One’s location on one side or another of a line drawn on a map should have no baring on the matter.

1. That “Free Trade harms the Interests of Ordinary Working People” Fallacy: Bastiat was committed to the principle of free trade because he thought it would best promote the peace, welfare, and prosperity of ordinary working people and consumers. It would maximise their work opportunities by creating new industries or specializations within industries, and that it would provide them with the greatest choice and lowest prices for the things they would buy. It was true that government subsidies and tariffs might be in the interests of the favoured industry and its workers but this was achieved at the expense of the other workers and industries in the economy and ultimately against the long term interests of even those being protected.
   1. ES1.08 "Droits différentiels" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VIII. Differential Duties) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 207-08; SE1 8, pp. 79-80 Online; OC4.8, pp. 62-63 Online; CW3 ES1.08, pp. 53-54.
   2. ES1.09 "Immense découverte!!!" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): IX. An immense Discovery!!!) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 208-11; SE1 9, pp. 81-85 Online; OC4.9, pp. 63-67 Online; CW3 ES1.09, pp. 54-57.
   3. ES2.04 "Conseil inférieur du travail)" (The Lower Council of Labor) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 4, pp. 44-48; SE2 4, pp. 44-48 Online; OC4, pp. 160-63 Online; CW3 ES2.04, pp. 142-46.
   4. ES2.06 "Aux artisans et aux ouvriers" (To Artisans and Workers) Le Courrier français, 18 Sept. 1846; SE2 6, pp. 59-71 Online; OC4, pp. 173-82 Online; CW3 ES2.6, pp. 155-163.
   5. ES2.15 "Le petit arsenal du libre-échangiste" (The Free Trader’s Little Arsensal) Le Libre-Échange, 25 April 1847, no. 22, pp. 175-76; SE2 15, pp. 163-171 Online; OC4, pp. 251-57 Online; CW3 ES2.15, pp. 234-40.
   6. ES3.12 "L’indiscret. - Questions sur les effets des restrictions" (The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions Le Libre-Échange, 12 Dec. 1847, no. 3 (2nd year), p. 20; OC2.65, pp. 435-46 Online; CW3 ES3.12, pp. 309-18.
   7. ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) an unpublished outline from 1847; OC2.60, pp. 400-09 Online; CW3 ES3.16, pp. 343-50.
   8. ES3.20 "Monita secreta" (The Secret Handbook) Le Libre-Échange, 20 Feb. 1848, no. 13 (2nd year), pp. 75-76; OC2.67, pp. 452-58 Online; CW3 ES3.20, pp. 371-77.
2. The Balance of Trade (or Reciprocity) Fallacy: that a nation's wealth is measured by how much more it exports than imports - or, in a more sophisticated form, that a nation's gains from trade are measured in the net amount of money that it receives from abroad; that if we have to trade with other nations it should be done on a "reciprocal" basis where imports balance imports.
   1. ES1.06 "Balance du commerce" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VI. The Balance of Trade) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 201-04; SE1 6, pp. 66-71 Online; OC4.6, pp. 52-57 Online; CW3 ES1.6, pp. 44-49.
   2. ES1.15 "Encore la réciprocité" (More Reciprocity) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 15, pp. 117-119; SE1 15, pp. 117-119 Online; OC4, pp. 90-92 Online; CW3 ES1.15, pp. 78-79.
3. The “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc” Fallacy: that because a natural disaster occurs after a reform of the tariffs then the reform is the thing to blame for the hardship of the people not the natural disaster.
   1. ES2.08 "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" Le Libre-Échange, 6 Dec. 1846, no. 2, p. 11; SE2 8, pp. 79-81 Online; OC4, pp. 187-89 Online; CW3 ES2.8, pp. 168-69.
   2. ES2.10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 10, pp. 93-100; SE2 10, pp. 93-100 Online; OC4, pp. 198-203 Online; CW3 ES2.10, pp. 179-87..
4. The Danger of Pure Theory (or Absolute Principles) Fallacy: that free trade is correct in theory but that it is impractical to apply it now because of the harm it will do in the transition period.
   1. ES1.13 "Théorie, Pratique" (Theory and Practice) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 13, pp. 103-111; SE1 13, pp. 103-111 Online; OC4, pp. 79-86 Online; CW3 ES1.13, pp. 69-75.
   2. ES1.18 "Il n'y a pas de principes absolus" (There are no Absolute Principles) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 18, pp. 124-127; SE1 18, pp. 124-127 Online; OC4, pp. 94-97 Online; CW3 ES1.18, pp. 83-85.
   3. ES3.02 "Deux principes: le but du travail et de la production" (Two Principles: The Goal of Work and of Production) Le Libre-Échange, 7 Feb. 1847, no. 11, p. 88; OC2.54, pp. 363-70 Online; CW3 ES3.02, pp. 261-68.
5. The Colonial Fallacy (the Saccharique Sophism): that a nation is better off because it has overseas colonies, that they provide an essential market for domestic manufacturers, that they provide an outlet for surplus population. Colonies do not provide profitable markets for domestic industry given the poverty of the colonial market, the cost of administering and ruling the colony, and the risk of war with other colonial powers. The subsidy given to colonial sugar producers perpetuates the system of slavery.
   1. ES3.08 "L’économie politique des généraux" (Political Economy of the Generals) Le Libre-Échange, 20 June 1847, no. 30, p. 234; OC2.52, pp. 355-58 Online; CW3 ES3.08, pp. 293-96.
   2. ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) an unpublished outline from 1847; OC2.60, pp. 400-09 Online; CW3 ES3.16, pp. 343-50.
   3. ES3.19 "Le sucre antédiluvien" (Antediluvian Sugar) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Feb. 1848, no. 12 (2nd year), p. 68; OC2.66, pp. 446-51 Online; CW3 ES3.19, pp. 365-71.
   4. WS.10 "L'Algérie" (Algeria); CQV 10, pp. 61-67 Online; OC5, pp. 379-83 Online; CW3, pp. 439-443.
6. The National Independence Fallacy: that a nation would lose its independence, especially in a time of war, if it became too dependent on foreign trade (especially in "strategic industries").
   1. ES1.19 "Indépendance nationale" (National Independence) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 19, pp. 128-131; SE1 19, pp. 128-131 Online; OC4, pp. 97-99 Online; CW3 ES1.19, pp. 85-87.
7. The "If it works on the National/Large Scale, then it should also work on the Local/Small Scale" Fallacy (also the Mayor of Enios Fallacy): that if tariffs are beneficial to the nation in stimulating production, employment, and taxation, then it should also be beneficial to a city or smaller, local communities if they imposed their own local tariffs. This is an example of Bastiat's use of the reductio ad absurdum argument to show the folly of any kind of protection whether it be imposed on the "national" level or the "local" level.
   1. ES1.10 "Réciprocité" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): X. Reciprocity) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 211; SE1 10, pp. 86-90 Online; OC4.10, pp. 67-70 Online; CW3 ES1.10, pp. 57-60.
   2. ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.
8. The Moderation/Compromise between Two Extremes Fallacy: that a middle ground, or compromise can and should be reached between two opposing principles such as protectionism and free trade. FB argues that partial protectionism is still protectionism and suffers all the same economic problems as the latter.
   1. ES3.03 "La logique de M. Cunin-Gridaine" (Mr. Cunin-Gridaine's Logic) Le Libre-Échange, 2 May 1847, no. 23, p. 184; OC2.55, pp. 370-73 Online; CW3 ES3.03, pp. 268-71.
   2. ES3.05 "De la modération" (On Moderation) Le Libre-Échange, 23 May 1847, no. 26, p. 201; OC2.50, pp. 343-48 Online; CW3 ES3.05, pp. 277-81.
9. The Invisible Line on a Map Fallacy (the "Bidassoa River" Fallacy): that it makes economic sense to draw invisible lines on a map and permit trade on one side of the line and ban, restrict, or tax trade which crosses that line. This only results in reduced production, less wealth for consumers, and encourages smuggling across borders.
   1. ES3.10 "Association espagnole pour la défense du travail national" (The Spanish Association for the Defense of National Employment) Le Libre-Échange, 7 Nov. 1847, no. 50, p. 404; OC2.64, pp. 429-35 Online; CW3 ES3.10, pp. 299-305.

⠀

Fallacy No. 4: “The State can and should provide for the Needs of the People”

This fallacy stems from the false belief that the State can and should provide for the needs of “its people.” Bastiat rejects this firstly on the grounds that the State should not do this because it violates the principles of natural law, property rights, limited government, and opposition to coercion in human affairs. Secondly, on the grounds that historically this is not how States have in fact conducted themselves. According to his theory of plunder, States have always been the servants of whatever vested interest group (or ruling class) controls them and that this will not change in the foreseeable future.

1. The Fallacy that the Customs Service provides a useful Service to the Nation: that in addition to raising revenue for the State (its fiscal function) the Custom Services helps improve the material well-being and moral condition of the people by preventing harmful goods from entering the country.
   1. ES2.06 "Aux artisans et aux ouvriers" (To Artisans and Workers) Le Courrier français, 18 Sept. 1846; SE2 6, pp. 59-71 Online; OC4, pp. 173-82 Online; CW3 ES2.6, pp. 155-163.
2. The Elected Representative Fallacy: that voters are accurately and responsibly represented by the people who are elected to the Parliament; that there is a world of difference between someone who represents you with a power of attorney specifically granted by you, and an individual who is elected by a limited suffrage every four years or so.
   1. ES2.10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 10, pp. 93-100; SE2 10, pp. 93-100 Online; OC4, pp. 198-203 Online; CW3 ES2.10, pp. 179-87.
   2. ES3.23 "Circulaires d’un ministère introuvable" (Memos from a Government that is Nowhere to be Found) Le Libre-Échange, 19 March 1848, no. 16 (2nd year), p. 88; OC2.69, pp. 462-65 Online; CW3 ES3.23, pp. 380-83.
   3. PS02 "Sophismes électoraux" (Electoral Sophisms) (c. 1848); OC7.67, pp. 271-80 Online; CW1, p. 397-404.
   4. PS01 "Les élections. Dialogue entre un profond Publiciste et un Campagnard" (The Elections. A Dialog between a deep-thinking Supporter and a Countryman) (c.1845); OC7.68, pp. Online; CW1, p. 404-9.
3. The Utopian (Politician) Fallacy: that a single politician given dictatorial powers can bring about freedom at one stroke of the pen. This is false because a political leader or a government cannot get too far ahead of the ideas of the bulk of the people who may have changed their thinking.
   1. ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) Le Libre-Échange, 17 Jan. 1847, no. 8, pp. 63-64; SE2 11, pp. 101-111 Online; OC4, pp. 203-12 Online; CW3 ES2.11, pp. 187-98.
4. The Multiple Simultaneous Reforms Fallacy: related to the "Utopian Fallacy", that a dozen or more economic reforms attempted at one time can be successfully undertaken; too many reforms taken on at one time has a crowding out effect because opponents of each reform can organise as a group. The model is the single issue movement like the Anti-Corn Law League.
   1. ES2.12 "Le sel, la poste et la douane" (Salt, the Mail, and the Customs Service) Journal des Économistes, May 1846, T. XIV, no. 54, pp. 142-152; SE2 12., pp. 112-133 Online; OC4, pp. 213-29 Online; CW3 ES2.12, pp. 198-214.
5. The Life-giving Welfare State Fallacy: that the State can create wealth or employment for all by means of taxation and legislation; that it is possible after the February Revolution to subsidize and support all of the people instead of a small minority of privileged landowners and manufacturers which was the case before 1848. FB said famously that this is a "fiction", that ordinary workers and taxpayers cannot mutually pillage themselves without causing economic collapse of the state, that the state always takes a cut from whatever it takes from the taxpayer. Thus the people give life to the State; the State cannot give life to the people.
   1. ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79.
   2. ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) La République française, 14 March 1848, no. 17, p. 1; OC2.68.2, pp. 460-61 Online; CW3 ES3.22, pp. 379-80.
   3. ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions) Journal des Économistes, 15 March 1848, T. 19, no. 70, pp. 323-33; OC2.70, pp. 466-82 Online; CW3 ES3.24, pp. 384-99.
6. That "Only Government can provide Theatres, Museums, and Roads" Fallacy: similar to the above.
   1. WS.04 "Théâtres. Beaux-arts" (Theatres and the Fine Arts); CQV 4, pp. 18-26 Online; OC5, pp. 347-53 Online; CW3, pp. 413-18.
   2. WS.05 "Travaux publics" (Public Works); CQV 5, pp. 27-30 Online; OC5, pp. 353-56 Online; CW3, pp. 419-21.
   3. PS03 "L’État" (The State) Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 2; OC7.59, pp. 238-40 Online; CW2.8, pp. 105-6.
   4. PS04 "L’État" (The State) Journal des Débats, 25 Sept. 1848, pp. 1-2; OC4, pp. 327-41 Online; CW2, pp. 93-104.

⠀

Fallacy No. 5: Other General Economic Fallacies

This is a catch all category for all the other examples of economic fallacies which Bastiat raised from time to time.

1. The "Bourgeoisie is the New Class Enemy of the Working Class" Fallacy: that the bourgeoisie has the replaced the aristocracy as the new class enemy of the workers. Bastiat argues that the bourgeoisie has much more in common with the working class than with the old aristocracy because it owes its position to hard work, savings, entrepreneurial insight, risk taking, satisfying consumer needs through voluntary exchange. If the workers act more like the bourgeoisie there is nothing to stop them improving their situation which they could never do when ruled by the aristocratic class.
   1. ES3.06 "Peuple et bourgeoisie" (The People and the Bourgeoisie) Le Libre-Échange, 23 May 1847, no. 26, p. 202; OC2.51, pp. 348-55 Online; CW3 ES3.06, pp. 281-87.
2. The "Middlemen are Unproductive and Wasteful" Fallacy: that costs are raised unecessarily for consumers by the parasitic and useless activities of middlemen such as capitalists, bankers, speculators, entrepreneurs, merchants and traders whose activities should be abolished, limited, regulated in order to lower costs for consumers. FB shows that what is unseen are the numerous essential services provided by these people in getting goods into the hands of consumers. E.g. risk, entrepreneurial insight, lending money, organizing labor and machinery, logistics.
   1. WS.06 "Les intermédiaires" (The Middlemen); CQV 6, pp. 30-39 Online; OC5, pp. 356-63 Online; CW3, pp. 422-27.
3. The "Profit, Interest, and Rent are Unjust" Fallacy: that profit, interest, and rent are "unearned income" which is taken unjustly from the workers and which should be banned by getting the State to provide "free credit" and other subsidized services. FB shows how these three things are essential services in a free market economy, that those who profit, lend money, or rent land provide these services voluntarily, productively, and justly. Many of the benefits are "not seen" at first sight.
   1. WS.09 "Crédit" (Credit); CQV 9, pp. 56-60 Online; OC5, pp. 375-78 Online; CW3, pp. 437-39.
4. The "Right to Work" Fallacy: that all workers who wish to work have a right to be given work by the State at a wage of their own choosing (i.e. a "living wage"). FB shows that a "right to work" implies the right of the State to impose taxes at whatever level is necessary to pay for these make work schemes (the National Workshops of early 1848), to unfairly compete with private providers by using tax payers' money. FB and the Economists contrasted "right to a job" (droit au travail) with "right to seek work or to work at whatever one chooses to do" (droit du travail).
   1. WS.12 "Droit au travail, droit au profit" (The Right to Work and the Right to Profit); CQV 12, pp. 76-79 Online; OC5, pp. 390-92 Online; CW3, pp. 449-52.(The Right to Work and the Right to Profit) [july 1850] [*oc*, vol. 5, pp. 390-92].

 

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Appendix 2: A List of the Sophisms by Format↩

For statistical purposes in this paper we use the figure of 72 separate Sophisms.

1. essays written in informal or more conversational prose (36 essays or 50%)
2. essays which were in dialog or constructed conversational form (13 or 18%), including two which used the character Robinson Crusoe for economic thought experiments
3. stand alone economic tales or fables (8 or 11%)
4. fictional letters or petitions to government officials and other documents (8 or 11%)
5. essays written in more formal or academic prose (4 or 5.5%)
6. direct appeals to the workers and citizens of France (one speech and two revolutionary wall posters - 3 or 4%)

1.) Essays written in informal or conversational prose (38)

ES1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22;

ES1.01 "Abondance, disette" (Economic Sophisms: I Abundance and Scarcity) Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 1-8; SE1 1, pp. 6-18 Online; OC4.1.1, pp. 5-14 Online; CW3 ES1.01, pp. 7-15

ES1.02 "Obstacle, cause" (Economic Sophisms: II Obstacle and Cause) Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 8-10; SE1 2, pp. 19-23 Online; OC4.1.2, pp. 15-18 Online; CW3 ES1.02, pp. 15-18

ES1.03 "Effort, résultat" (Economic Sophisms: III Effort and Result) Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 10-16; SE1 3, pp. 24-34 Online; OC4.1.3, pp. 19-27 Online; CW3 ES1.03, pp. 18-24

ES1.04 "Egaliser les conditions de production" (Economic Sophisms (cont): IV Equalizing the Conditions of Production) Journal des Économistes, July 1845, T.11, no. 44, p. 345-56; SE1 4, pp. 35-57 Online; OC4.1.4, pp. 27-45 Online; CW3 ES1.04, pp. 25-39

ES1.05 "Nos produits sont grevés de taxes" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): V Our Products are weighed down with Taxes) Journal des Économistes, July 1845, T.11, no. 44, p. 356-60; SE1 5, pp. 58-65 Online; OC4.1.5, pp. 46-52 Online; CW3 ES10.5, pp. 39-44

ES1.06 "Balance du commerce" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VI. The Balance of Trade) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 201-04; SE1 6, pp. 66-71 Online; OC4.6, pp. 52-57 Online; CW3 ES1.6, pp. 44-490

ES1.09 "Immense découverte!!!" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): IX. An immense Discovery!!!) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 208-11; SE1 9, pp. 81-85 Online; OC4.9, pp. 63-67 Online; CW3 ES1.09, pp. 54-57

ES1.11 "Prix absolus" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): XI. Nominal Prices) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 213-15; SE1 11, pp. 81-95 Online; OC4.11, pp. 70-74 Online; CW3 ES1.11, pp. 61-64

ES1.14 "Conflit de principes" (A Conflict of Principles) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 14, pp. 112-115; SE1 14, pp. 112-115 Online; OC4, pp. 86-90 Online; CW3 ES1.14, pp. 75-78

ES1.15 "Encore la réciprocité" (More Reciprocity) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 15, pp. 117-119; SE1 15, pp. 117-119 Online; OC4, pp. 90-92 Online; CW3 ES1.15, pp. 78-79

ES1.17 "Un chemin de fer négatif" (A Negative Railway) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 17, pp. 122-123; SE1 17, pp. 122-123 Online; OC4, pp. 93-94 Online; CW3 ES1.17, pp. 81-83

ES1.18 "Il n'y a pas de principes absolus" (There are no Absolute Principles) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 18, pp. 124-127; SE1 18, pp. 124-127 Online; OC4, pp. 94-97 Online; CW3 ES1.18, pp. 83-85

ES1.19 "Indépendance nationale" (National Independence) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 19, pp. 128-131; SE1 19, pp. 128-131 Online; OC4, pp. 97-99 Online; CW3 ES1.19, pp. 85-87

ES1.20 "Travail humain, travail national" (Human Labor and Domestic Labor) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 20, pp. 132-138; SE1 20, pp. 132-138 Online; OC4, pp. 100-5 Online; CW3 ES1.20, pp. 88-92

ES1.22 "Métaphores" (Metaphors) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 22, pp. 152-156; SE1 22, pp. 152-156 Online; OC4, pp. 115-19 Online; CW3 ES1.22, pp. 100-03

ES2 4, 5, 6, 8, 17;

ES2.04 "Conseil inférieur du travail)" (The Lower Council of Labor) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 4, pp. 44-48; SE2 4, pp. 44-48 Online; OC4, pp. 160-63 Online; CW3 ES2.04, pp. 142-46

ES2.05 "Cherté, bon marché" (High Prices and Low Prices) Le Libre-Échange, 25 July 1847, no. 35, pp. 273-74; SE2 5, pp. 49-58 Online; OC4, pp. 163-73 Online; CW3 ES2.05, pp. 146-54

ES2.06 "Aux artisans et aux ouvriers" (To Artisans and Workers) Le Courrier français, 18 Sept. 1846; SE2 6, pp. 59-71 Online; OC4, pp. 173-82 Online; CW3 ES2.6, pp. 155-163

ES2.08 "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" Le Libre-Échange, 6 Dec. 1846, no. 2, p. 11; SE2 8, pp. 79-81 Online; OC4, pp. 187-89 Online; CW3 ES2.8, pp. 168-69

ES2.17 "Domination par le travail" (Domination through Work) Le Libre-Échange, 14 Feb. 1847, no. 12, pp. 93-94; SE2 17, pp. 182-190 Online; OC4, pp. 265-71 Online; CW3 ES2.17, pp. 248-53

ES3 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 15, 17;

ES3.03 "La logique de M. Cunin-Gridaine" (Mr. Cunin-Gridaine's Logic) Le Libre-Échange, 2 May 1847, no. 23, p. 184; OC2.55, pp. 370-73 Online; CW3 ES3.03, pp. 268-71

ES3.05 "De la modération" (On Moderation) Le Libre-Échange, 23 May 1847, no. 26, p. 201; OC2.50, pp. 343-48 Online; CW3 ES3.05, pp. 277-81

ES3.06 "Peuple et bourgeoisie" (The People and the Bourgeoisie) Le Libre-Échange, 23 May 1847, no. 26, p. 202; OC2.51, pp. 348-55 Online; CW3 ES3.06, pp. 281-87

ES3.07 "Deux pertes contre un profit. À M. Arago, de l’Académie des Sciences" (Two Losses against One Profit) Le Libre-Échange, 30 May 1847, no. 27, pp. 215-16; OC2.58, pp. 384-91 Online; CW3 ES3.07, pp. 287-93

ES3.08 "L’économie politique des généraux" (Political Economy of the Generals) Le Libre-Échange, 20 June 1847, no. 30, p. 234; OC2.52, pp. 355-58 Online; CW3 ES3.08, pp. 293-96

ES3.11 "Les hommes spéciaux" (The Specialists) Le Libre-Échange, 28 Nov. 1847, no. 1 (2nd year), p. 7; OC2,56, pp. 373-77 Online; CW3 ES3.11, pp. 305-08

ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss); OC7.75, pp. 327-28 Online; CW3 ES3.15, pp. 341-43

ES3.17 "Le petit manuel du consommateur ou de tout le monde" (A Little Manual for Consumers, in other words for Everyone) An unpublished draft; OC2.61, pp. 409-15 Online; CW3 ES3.17, pp. 350-55

WSWNS 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

WS.02 "Le licenciement" (Dismissing Members of the Armed Forces); CQV 2, pp. 9-13 Online; OC5, pp. 340-43 Online; CW3, pp. 407-10

WS.03 "L'impôt" (Taxes); CQV 3, pp. 13-18 Online; OC5, pp. 343-47 Online; CW3, pp. 410-13

WS.04 "Théâtres. Beaux-arts" (Theatres and the Fine Arts); CQV 4, pp. 18-26 Online; OC5, pp. 347-53 Online; CW3, pp. 413-18

WS.05 "Travaux publics" (Public Works); CQV 5, pp. 27-30 Online; OC5, pp. 353-56 Online; CW3, pp. 419-21

WS.06 "Les intermédiaires" (The Middlemen); CQV 6, pp. 30-39 Online; OC5, pp. 356-63 Online; CW3, pp. 422-27

WS.08 "Les machines" (Machines); CQV 8, pp. 47-55 Online; OC5, pp. 368-75 Online; CW3, pp. 432-36

WS.09 "Crédit" (Credit); CQV 9, pp. 56-60 Online; OC5, pp. 375-78 Online; CW3, pp. 437-39

WS.10 "L'Algérie" (Algeria); CQV 10, pp. 61-67 Online; OC5, pp. 379-83 Online; CW3, pp. 439-443

WS.11 "Epargne et Luxe" (Thrift and Luxury); CQV 11, pp. 67-76 Online; OC5, pp. 383-90 Online; CW3, pp. 443-49

WS.12 "Droit au travail, droit au profit" (The Right to Work and the Right to Profit); CQV 12, pp. 76-79 Online; OC5, pp. 390-92 Online; CW3, pp. 449-52

2.) Essays in dialog form (14)

ES1 13, 16, 21;

ES1.13 "Théorie, Pratique" (Theory and Practice) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 13, pp. 103-111; SE1 13, pp. 103-111 Online; OC4, pp. 79-86 Online; CW3 ES1.13, pp. 69-75

ES1.16 "Les fleuves obstrués plaidant pour les prohibitionistes" (Blocked Rivers pleading in favor of the Prohibitionists) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 16, pp. 120-121; SE1 16, pp. 120-121 Online; OC4, pp. 92-93 Online; CW3 ES1.16, pp. 80-81

ES1.21 "Matières premières" (Raw Materials) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 21, pp. 139-151; SE1 21, pp. 139-151 Online; OC4, pp. 105-15 Online; CW3 ES1.21, pp. 92-10

ES2 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15;

ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; OC4, pp. 189-98 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179

ES2.10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 10, pp. 93-100; SE2 10, pp. 93-100 Online; OC4, pp. 198-203 Online; CW3 ES2.10, pp. 179-87

ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) Le Libre-Échange, 17 Jan. 1847, no. 8, pp. 63-64; SE2 11, pp. 101-111 Online; OC4, pp. 203-12 Online; CW3 ES2.11, pp. 187-98

ES2.12 "Le sel, la poste et la douane" (Salt, the Mail, and the Customs Service) Journal des Économistes, May 1846, T. XIV, no. 54, pp. 142-152; SE2 12., pp. 112-133 Online; OC4, pp. 213-29 Online; CW3 ES2.12, pp. 198-214

ES2.14 "Autre chose" (Something Else) Le Libre-Échange, 21 March 1847, no. 17, pp. 135-36; SE2 14, pp. 150-162 Online; OC4, pp. 241-51 Online; CW3 ES2.14, pp. 226-34

ES2.15 "Le petit arsenal du libre-échangiste" (The Free Trader’s Little Arsensal) Le Libre-Échange, 25 April 1847, no. 22, pp. 175-76; SE2 15, pp. 163-171 Online; OC4, pp. 251-57 Online; CW3 ES2.15, pp. 234-40

ES3 2, 13, 15, 16 ;

ES3.02 "Deux principes: le but du travail et de la production" (Two Principles: The Goal of Work and of Production) Le Libre-Échange, 7 Feb. 1847, no. 11, p. 88; OC2.54, pp. 363-70 Online; CW3 ES3.02, pp. 261-68

ES3.13 "La peur d’un mot" (The Fear of a Word) Le Libre-Échange, 20 June, 1847, no. 30, pp. 239-40; OC2.59, pp. 392-400 Online; CW3 ES3.13, pp. 318-27

ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss); OC7.75, pp. 327-28 Online; CW3 ES3.15, pp. 341-43

ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) an unpublished outline from 1847; OC2.60, pp. 400-09 Online; CW3 ES3.16, pp. 343-50

WSWNS 7.

WS.07 "Restriction" (Trade Restrictions); CQV 7, pp. 40-47 Online; OC5, pp. 363-68 Online; CW3, pp. 427-32

3.) Economic tales (8) (Five of these eight also have substantial dialogs as well)

ES1 8, 10;

ES1.08 "Droits différentiels" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VIII. Differential Duties) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 207-08; SE1 8, pp. 79-80 Online; OC4.8, pp. 62-63 Online; CW3 ES1.08, pp. 53-54

ES1.10 "Réciprocité" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): X. Reciprocity) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 211; SE1 10, pp. 86-90 Online; OC4.10, pp. 67-70 Online; CW3 ES1.10, pp. 57-60

ES2 7, 13;

ES2.07 "Conte chinois" (A Chinese Tale) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 7, pp. 72-78; SE2 7, pp. 72-78 Online; OC4, pp. 182-87 Online; CW3 ES2.07, pp. 163-67

ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26

ES3 10, 12, 18;

ES3.10 "Association espagnole pour la défense du travail national" (The Spanish Association for the Defense of National Employment) Le Libre-Échange, 7 Nov. 1847, no. 50, p. 404; OC2.64, pp. 429-35 Online; CW3 ES3.10, pp. 299-305

ES3.12 "L’indiscret. - Questions sur les effets des restrictions" (The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions Le Libre-Échange, 12 Dec. 1847, no. 3 (2nd year), p. 20; OC2.65, pp. 435-46 Online; CW3 ES3.12, pp. 309-18

ES3.18 "Le maire d’Énios" (The Mayor of Énios) Le Libre-Échange, 6 Feb. 1848, no. 11 (2nd year), pp. 63-64; OC2.63, pp. 418-29 Online; CW3 ES3.18, pp. 355-65

WSWNS 1.

WS.01 "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window); CQV 1, pp. 5-8 Online; OC5, pp. 337-40 Online; CW3, pp. 405-7

4.) Invented letters and petitions (8)

ES1 7;

ES1.07 "Pétition des fabricants de chandelles, etc." (Economic Sophisms (cont.): VII. Petition by the Manufacturers of Candles, etc.) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 204-07; SE1 7, pp. 72-78 Online; OC4.7, pp. 57-62 Online; CW3 ES1.07, pp. 49-53

ES2 3, 16;

ES2.03 "Les deux haches" (The Two Axes) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 3, pp. 39-43; SE2 3, pp. 39-43 Online; OC4, pp. 156-59 Online; CW3 ES2.03, pp. 138-42

ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Dec. 1846, no. 3, p. 24; SE2 16, pp. 172-181 Online; OC4, pp. 258-65 Online; CW3 ES2.16, pp. 140-48

ES3 1, 9, 19, 20, 23.

ES3.01 "Recettes protectionnistes" (Recipes for Protectionism) Le Libre-Échange, 27 Dec. 1846, no. 5, p. 40; OC2.53, pp. 358-63 Online; CW3 ES3.01, pp. 257-61

ES3.09 "Remonstrance" (A Complaint) Le Libre-Échange, 5 Sept. 1847, no. 41, p. 328; OC2.62, pp. 415-18 Online; CW3 ES3.09, pp. 296-99

ES3.19 "Le sucre antédiluvien" (Antediluvian Sugar) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Feb. 1848, no. 12 (2nd year), p. 68; OC2.66, pp. 446-51 Online; CW3 ES3.19, pp. 365-71

ES3.20 "Monita secreta" (The Secret Handbook) Le Libre-Échange, 20 Feb. 1848, no. 13 (2nd year), pp. 75-76; OC2.67, pp. 452-58 Online; CW3 ES3.20, pp. 371-77

ES3.23 "Circulaires d’un ministère introuvable" (Memos from a Government that is Nowhere to be Found) Le Libre-Échange, 19 March 1848, no. 16 (2nd year), p. 88; OC2.69, pp. 462-65 Online; CW3 ES3.23, pp. 380-83

5.) Essays written in more Formal or Academic Prose

ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 1, pp. 1-27; SE2 1, pp. 1-27 Online; OC4, pp. 127-48 Online; CW3 ES2.01, pp. 113-30

ES2.02 "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 2, pp. 28-38; SE2 2, pp. 28-38 Online; OC4, pp. 148-56 Online; CW3 ES2.02, pp. 131-38

ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; OC4, pp. 189-98 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179

ES3.14 "Anglomanie, Anglophobie" (Anglomania, Anglophobia); OC7.74, pp. 309-27 Online; CW3 ES3.14, pp. 327-41

ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions) Journal des Économistes, 15 March 1848, T. 19, no. 70, pp. 323-33; OC2.70, pp. 466-82 Online; CW3 ES3.24, pp. 384-99

6.) Direct appeals to the workers and citizens of France (3)

ES1.12 "La protection élève-t-elle le taux des salaires?" (Does Protection increase the Rate of Pay?) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 12, pp. 96-192; SE1 12, pp. 96-192 Online; OC4, pp. 74-79 Online; CW3 ES1.12, pp. 64-69

ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79

ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) La République française, 14 March 1848, no. 17, p. 1; OC2.68.2, pp. 460-61 Online; CW3 ES3.22, pp. 379-80

 

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Appendix 3: Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Frédéric Bastiat↩

la Classe (Class)

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Les Causes perturbatrices (Disturbing Factors) vs. Les Causes réparatrices (Restorative Factors)

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L'Harmonie (Harmony) vs. La Discordance (Disharmony)

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L'Action humaine (Human Action)

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La Spoliation (Plunder)

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Ce qu'on voit est ce qu'on ne voit pas (The Seen and the Unseen)

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Endnotes↩

[1] For accounts of Bastiat's life see the Introduction by Jacques de Guenin and Jean-Claude Paul-Dejean in CW1 The Man and the Statesman: The Correspondence and Articles on Politics (Liberty Fund, 2011); the "Liberty Matters" online discussion led by Robert Leroux, “Bastiat and Political Economy” (July 1, 2013), with response essays by Donald J. Boudreaux, Michael C. Munger, and David M. Hart. Online at OLL ; and Leroux, Robert. Political Economy and Liberalism in France: The Contributions of Frédéric Bastiat (London: Routledge, 2011). Also, Gérard Minart, Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850). Le croisé de libre-échange (Paris: L’Harmattan, 2004), and Dean Russell, Frédéric Bastiat: Ideas and Influence (Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Foundation for Economic Education, 1969). 1st edition 1965.

[2] A note on abbreviations used in this paper: ES1 refers to Economic Sophisms Series I (1846); ES2 refers to Economic Sophisms Series II (1848); ES3 refers to a third series which the Liberty Fund editors have constructed from Bastiat's Oeuvres complètes; WSWNS refers to What is Seen and What is Not Seen (1850); OC refers to Bastiat's Oeuvres complètes (Complete Works), ed. Prosper Paillottet (1855, 1864); CW refers to Liberty Fund's edition of Bastiat's Collected Works (CW1 2011, CW2 2012, CW3 2017); FEE refers to the translations of Bastiat's works published by the Foundation for Economic Freedom in the mid-1960s.

[3] Bastiat's use of these authors in his writing is explored more fully in the editorial material in the CW3.

[4] Elliot, Ebenezer. Corn Law Rhymes. Sheffield Mechanics’ Anti-Bread Tax Society. Sheffield: Platt and Todd, 1830; and The Splendid Village; Corn Law Rhymes, and Other Poems. (London: B. Steill, 1844).

[5] Jane Haldimand Marcet, Conversations on Political Economy; in which the elements of that science are familiarly explained, (1816) 6th edition revised and enlarged (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1827).

[6] Harriet Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy (3rd ed) in 9 vols. (London: Charles Fox, 1832).

[7] ES3.25 "Barataria" (c. 1848) OC7.77, pp. 343-51 Online; and ES3.12 "L’indiscret. - Questions sur les effets des restrictions" (The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions), Le Libre-Échange, 12 Dec. 1847, no. 3 (2nd year), p. 20; OC2.65, pp. 435-46 Online; CW3 ES3.12, pp. 309-18.

[8] See my paper on the history of the popularization of economic ideas and the role played by Bastiat, David M. Hart, “Negative Railways, Turtle Soup, talking Pencils, and House owning Dogs: ‘The French Connection’ and the Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" (2014) Online. A shorter version was published as "Broken Windows and House-Owning Dogs: The French Connection and the Popularization of Economics from Bastiat to Jasay," Symposium on Anthony de Jasay, The Independent Review (Summer 2015), vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 61-84, Independent Review online.

[9] I have created a chronological list of all of Bastiat's writings which consists of 323 books and articles and 215 letters. The list is in the form of a table which can be sorted by ID number, date title, source, and location; and has links to the material which I have online. The latter includes his major works in French as well as the 7 volume Oeuvres complètes edited by his friends and colleagues in the 1850s and 1860. Online. I have done the same for his "Collected Sophisms: Economic and Political" Online which contains 87 individual essays in the "sophism" format (defined in more detail below). It is sortable by ID, title, original source, format, and location online. The entire collection off sophisms are listed in the Appendix below.

[10] "De l'influence des tarifs français et anglais sur l'avenir des deux peuples," Journal des Économistes, October 1844, T. 9, pp. 244-71. Online

[11] See “The Paris School of Liberal Political Economy” in The Cambridge History of French Thought, ed. Michael Moriarty and Jeremy Jennings (Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 301-12. A longer version of this chapter, “The Paris School of Liberal Political Economy, 1803-1853” (2018), can be found Online.

[12] Bastiat's first book was Cobden et la ligue, ou l'Agitation anglaise pour la liberté du commerce (Paris: Guillaumin, 1845) which consisted of a lengthy 96 page introduction by Bastiat followed by a large number of his translations of speeches and articles by Anti-Corn Law League activists and politicians. Online.

[13] The Société d’économie politique (Political Economy Society) was founded in 1842 by the Comte d’Esterno and Pellegrino Rossi with the name “Réunion des economistes.” It failed to attract members because of its academic tone and folded after a few meetings. Later in the year, another attempt at forming a society was made by Adolphe Blaise, Joseph Garnier, and Guillaumin which began meeting regularly from 15 November 1842. It attracted considerably more members because of its more relaxed and open format (Garnier estimates about 60 by its second meeting) where the members would meet every month for a meal in a restaurant before beginning a more formal discussion of topics selected by the committee. Its membership was drawn from members of the Institute, ex-parliamentarians, educators, journalists, judges, and several active in commerce and industry. The meetings were held in the Maison-Dorée restaurant which was located at 20, Boulevard des Italiens in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It opened in 1839 and had a reputation for excellent food and wine (it boasted a wine cellar of 80,000 bottles) and attracted regular customers such as Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas.

[14] These are numbered T.024-26, T.029-30, and T.032-37 in my Table of The Works of Frédéric Bastiat.

[15] French edition: Sophismes économiques. Première série (Paris: Guillaumin, 1846) Online. Liberty Fund edition in English: Frédéric Bastiat, The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 3: Economic Sophisms and “What is Seen and What is Not Seen.” Jacques de Guenin, General Editor. Translated from the French by Jane and Michel Willems, with a foreword by Robert McTeer, and an introduction and appendices by the Academic Editor David M. Hart. Annotations and Glossaries by Jacques de Guenin, Jean-Claude Paul-Dejean, and David M. Hart. Translation Editor Dennis O’Keeffe. (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2017). CW3, pp. 1-110. Online at OLL.

[16] Le Libre-Échange (29 Nov. 1846 - 16 April 1848). PDFs available via this HTML index page Online.

[17] French edition: Sophismes économiques. Deuxième série. (Paris: Guillaumin, 1848) Online. LF English edition: in CW3, pp. 113-253.

[18] The French editor Prosper Paillottet noted in a footnote on p. 1, of OC2 "Le Libre-Échange" that there was enough material written by Bastiat to make up "(une) nouvelle série de sophismes économiques" Online. English edition: CW3, pp. 257-399.

[19] French edition: Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas, ou l'Économie politique en une leçon. Par M. F. Bastiat, Représentant du peuple à l'Assemblée nationale, Membre correspondant de l'Institut (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850) Online. LF edition: CW3, pp. 401-52.

[20] Joseph A. Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis. Edited from Manuscript by Elizabeth Boody Schumpeter (New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. 1st ed. 1954). See, pp. 500–01. The complete passage with its full vitriole is: "Frédéric Bastiat’s (1801–50) case has been given undue prominence by remorseless critics. But it is simply the case of the bather who enjoys himself in the shallows and then goes beyond his depth and drowns. A strong free trader and laissez-faire enthusiast, he rose into prominence by a brilliantly written article, ‘De l’influence des tarifs français et anglais sur l’avenir des deux peuples’ (Journal des économistes, 1844), which was grist to the mill of the small group of Paris free traders who then tried to parallel Cobden’s agitation in England. A series of Sophismes économiques followed, whose pleasant wit —petition of candle-makers and associated industries for protection against the unfair competition of the sun and that sort of thing — that played merrily on the surface of the free-trade argument has ever since been the delight of many. Bastiat ran the French free-trade association, displaying a prodigious activity, and presently turned his light artillery against his socialist compatriots. So far, so good—or at any rate, no concern of ours. Admired by sympathizers, reviled by opponents, his name might have gone down to posterity as the most brilliant economic journalist who ever lived. But in the last two years of his life (his hectic career only covers the years 1844–50) he embarked upon work of a different kind, a first volume of which, the Harmonies économiques, was published in 1850. The reader will please understand that Bastiat’s confidence in unconditional laissez faire (his famous ‘optimism’)—or any other aspect of his social philosophy—has nothing whatever to do with the adverse appraisal that seems to me to impose itself, although it motivated most of the criticism he got. Personally, I even think that Bastiat’s exclusive emphasis on the harmony of class interests is, if anything, rather less silly than is exclusive emphasis on the antagonism of class interests. Nor should it be averred that there are no good ideas at all in the book. Nevertheless, its deficiency in reasoning power or, at all events, in power to handle the analytic apparatus of economics, puts it out of court here, I do not hold that Bastiat was a bad theorist. I hold that he was no theorist. This fact was bound to tell in what was essentially a venture in theory, but does not affect any other merits of his.”

[21] In 1964 F.A. Hayek wrote an introduction to FEE's edition of Bastiat’s Selected Essays on Political Economy (which included What is Seen and What is Not Seen), Hayek virtually conceded Schumpeter’s evaluation by damning Bastiat’s contribution to economic theory with the faintest of praise: "Even those who may question the eminence of Frédéric Bastiat as an economic theorist will grant that he was a publicist of genius. Joseph Schumpeter calls him “the most brilliant economic journalist who ever lived.” For the purpose of introducing the present volume, which contains some of the most successful of his writings for the general public, we might well leave it at that. One might even grant Schumpeter's harsh assessment of Bastiat that “he was not a theorist” without seriously diminishing his stature. It is true that when, at the end of his extremely short career as a writer, he attempted to provide a theoretical justification for his general conceptions, he did not satisfy the professionals. It would indeed have been a miracle if a man who, after only five years as a regular writer on public affairs, attempted in a few months, and with a mortal illness rapidly closing in on him, to defend the points on which he differed from established doctrine, had fully succeeded in this too. Yet one may ask whether it was not only his early death at the age of forty-nine that prevented him. His polemical writings, which in consequence are the most important ones he has left, certainly prove that he had an insight into what was significant and a gift for going to the heart of the matter that would have provided him with ample material for real contributions to science." See Hayek’s “Introduction,” Bastiat, Selected Essays (FEE ed.), p. ix. Selected Essays on Political Economy, translated from the French by Seymour Cain. Edited by George B. de Huszar (Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1968) (1st edition D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1964. Copyright William Volker Fund)

[22] See my papers on this: “Reassessing Frédéric Bastiat as an Economic Theorist”. A paper presented to the Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, October 2, 2015 Online; and “Frédéric Bastiat's Economic Harmonies: A Reassessment after 170 Years” (Dec., 2019). Online.

[23] We have classified the three different versions of his essay "L'État" as "political sophisms" although of course they have many economic references. The 1st very short version was written for a popular audience (literally "the man in the street"): PS03 "L’État" (The State), Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 2; OC7.59, pp. 238-40 Online; CW2.8, pp. 105-6. The 2nd expanded version was written for a more intellectual audience: PS04 "L’État" (The State), Journal des Débats, 25 Sept. 1848, pp. 1-2; OC4, pp. 327-41 Online; CW2, pp. 93-104. The 3rd version yet again expanded as part of the election campaign of 1849: PS05 "L’État" (The State) (exact date unknown). It was published as an article in Annuaire de l'économie politique et de la statistique pour 1849, par MM. Joseph Garnier et Guillaumin et al. Sixième année (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), pp. 356-68; and in the pamphlet L'État. Maudit Argent (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), pp. 5-23. Pamphlet facs. PDF.

[24] A collection of such wall posters from the 1848 Revolution was published in 1852. Bastiat's were not included but a few by the political economists were. See Anon., Les murailles révolutionnaires: Collection complète des Professions de foi, Affiches, Décrets, Bulletins de la République, Facsimile de signatures. (Paris et les Départements). Illustrées des portraits des membres du Gouvernement provisoire, des principaux chefs des Clubs, des Rédacteurs et Gérants des premiers journaux de la Révolution (Paris: Chez J. Bry (ainé), Édit., 1852). 1856 ed. 2 vols.

[25] ES1.01 "Abondance, disette" (Economic Sophisms: I Abundance and Scarcity), Journal des Économistes, April 1845, T.11, no. 41, p. 1-8; SE1 1, pp. 6-18 Online; OC4.1.1, pp. 5-14 Online; CW3 ES1.01, pp. 7-15.

[26] "Aux électeurs du département des Landes" (To the Electors of the Département of the Landes); OC1, pp. 217-31 Online; CW1, p. 341-52.

[27] Quote "Aux électeurs", OC1, p. 219 Online.

[28] David M. Hart, "Bastiat on the Seen and The Unseen: An Intellectual History” (2022) Online.

[29] "Mémoire présenté à la société d’agriculture, commerce, arts et sciences, du département des Landes sur la question vinicole" (Memoir Presented to the Société d’agriculture, commerce, arts, et sciences du département des Landes on the Wine-Growing Question); OC1, pp. 261-83 Online; CW2.3, pp. 25-42.

[30] Quote "Mémoire sur la question vinicole", OC1, p. 264 Online.

[31] "Free Trade. State of the Question in England. 1st Article", La Sentinelle des Pyrénées, 18 May to 1 June 1843. p. ??.

[32] "De l’influence des tarifs français et anglais sur l’avenir des deux peuples" (On the Influence of French and English Tariffs on the Future of the Two People), Journal des Économistes, T. IX, Oct. 1844, pp. 244-71; OC1, pp. 334-86 Online. Quote OC1, p. 341 Online.

[33] Cobden et la ligue, ou l’Agitation anglaise pour la liberté du commerce (Cobden and the League, or the English Movement for Free Trade) (Paris: Guillaumin, 1845). Introduction, OC3, pp. 1-80. Introduction from the book Online.

[34] "Introduction", pp. xlii-xliii Online.

[35] "La Ligue anglaise et la Ligue allemande. Réponse à la Presse" (The English Free Trade League and the German League), Journal des Économistes, Dec. 1845, T.13, no. 49, pp. 83-85, OC2.26, pp. 141-47 Online.

[36] Bastiat would use the metaphor of the "right hand" and the "left hand" in an essay he wrote 12 months later for Le Libre-Échange (13 Dec. 1846) and which would appear in his second collection of Economic Sophisms in January 1848. ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand), Le Libre-Échange, 13 Dec. 1846, no. 3, p. 24; SE2 16, pp. 172-181 online; CW3 ES2.16, pp. 140-48.

[37] "La Ligue anglaise et la Ligue allemande", quote OC2, p. 143 Online.

[38] The abbreviations used in this section are: Economic Sophisms Series I (ES1), Economic Sophisms Series II (ES2), Economic Sophisms Series III (ES3), What is Seen and What is Not Seen (WSWNS) and Political Sophisms (PS), with the number following referring to the essay number in that collection. The essays written in informal or conversational prose can be found in ES1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22; ES2 4, 5, 8, 17; ES3 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 17, 26, 27, 28; WSWNS 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; PS 3.

[39] Essays in dialog form can be found in ES1 13, 16, 21; ES2 9, 10, 11, 12,15; ES3 2, 4, 13, 16; WSWNS 7.

[40] "Théorie du bénéfice" (The Theory of Profit),Mémorial bordelais, 26 Feb. 1846; OC7.11, pp. 50-53 Online.

[41] ES3.26 "Une mystification" (A Hoax), Jacques Bonhomme, no. 2, 15-18 June 1848, p. 2; OC7.61, pp. 242-44 Online; and ES3.28 "Funeste gradation" (A Dreadful Escalation), Jacques Bonhomme, no. 3, 20-23 June 1848, p. 1; OC7.62, pp. 244-46 Online.

[42] There are two dialogs in which Robinson Crusoe appear in the Economic Sophisms: ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) (c. 1847) and ES2.14 "Autre chose" (Something Else) (Le Libre-Échange, 21 )March 1847); one mention in the Second Letter of “Propriété et Spoliation" (Property and Plunder) (July 1848); and one in the pamphlet “Le capital” (Capital) (1849). There are six Crusoe stories in Economic Harmonies (see below for details ).

[43] Charles Perrault (1628-1703) worked as an administrator serving under Jean-Baptiste Colbert during the reign of Louis XIV. After Colbert’s death in 1683 he lost his position and turned to writing children’s stories such as "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge" (Little Red Riding Hood), "Cendrillon" (Cinderella), "Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté" (Puss in Boots), "La Belle au bois dormant" (Sleeping Beauty).

[44] See my version of the 1st edition of 1759: [voltaire], Candide, Ou L’optimisme, Traduit de l’Allemand de Mr. Le Docteur Ralph. MDCCLIX. Online.

[45] Bastiat's economic tales can be found in ES1 8, 10; ES2 7, 13, 14; ES3 10, 12, 18, 25; WSWNS 1.

[46] ES1.10 "Réciprocité" (Reciprocity), Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 211; SE1 10, pp. 86-90 Online; CW3 ES1.10, pp. 57-60.

[47] ES2.07 "Conte chinois" (A Chinese Tale) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 7, pp. 72-78; SE2 7, pp. 72-78 Online; CW3 ES2.07, pp. 163-67.

[48] ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26

[49] WS.01 "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window); CQV 1, pp. 5-8 Online; CW3, pp. 405-7.

[50] ES1.07 "Pétition des fabricants de chandelles, etc." (Petition by the Manufacturers of Candles, etc.) Journal des Économistes, Oct. 1845, T.12, no. 47, p. 204-07; SE1 7, pp. 72-78 Online; CW3 ES1.07, pp. 49-53.

[51] ES3.20 "Monita secreta" (The Secret Handbook) Le Libre-Échange, 20 Feb. 1848, no. 13 (2nd year), pp. 75-76; OC2.67, pp. 452-58 Online; CW3 ES3.20, pp. 371-77.

[52] Bastiat's invented letters and petitions can be found in ES1 7; ES2 3, 16; ES3 1, 9, 19, 20, 23.

[53] The essays written in formal prose are: ES1 Introduction and ES1 Conclusion; ES2 1, 2; ES3 14, 15, 24; PS 2, 4, 5; WSWNS Introduction.

[54] ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder), SE2 1, pp. 1-27 Online; CW3 ES2.01, pp. 113-30. And ES2.02 "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies); SE2 2, pp. 28-38 Online; CW3 ES2.02, pp. 131-38.

[55] See my Introduction to Frédéric Bastiat, La Spoliation, la Classe, et l’État (Plunder, Class, and State): An Anthology of Texts (1845-1851). Edited and with an Introduction by David M. Hart (Sydney: The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). Online.

[56] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179.

[57] ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions) Journal des Économistes, 15 March 1848, T. 19, no. 70, pp. 323-33; OC2.70, pp. 466-82 Online; CW3 ES3.24, pp. 384-99.

[58] There are a total of four such direct appeals: ES1 12; ES2 6; ES3 21, 22.

[59] See Anon., Les murailles révolutionnaires: Collection complète des Professions de foi, Affiches, Décrets, Bulletins de la République (1856).

[60] ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) La République française, 14 March 1848, no. 17, p. 1; OC2.68.2, pp. 460-61 Online; CW3 ES3.22, pp. 379-80.

[61] ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79.

[62] Frédéric Bastiat, “Introduction,” Cobden et la ligue, ou l’Agitation anglaise pour la liberté du commerce (Paris: Guillaumin, 1845). pp. i-xcvi. Online.

[63] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179.

[64] ES1.23 "Conclusion" (late 1845); SE1, pp. 157-164 Online; CW3 ES1.23, pp. 104-10.

[65] ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder), SE2 1, pp. 1-27 Online; CW3 ES2.01, pp. 113-30; and ES2.02 "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies); SE2 2, pp. 28-38 Online; CW3 ES2.02, pp. 131-38.

[66] On Bastiat's sometimes complex and subtle theory of "the seen" and "the unseen", "see" my essay “Bastiat on the Seen and The Unseen: An Intellectual History”. An unpublished paper (une, 2022) Online.

[67] WSWNS Introduction, pp. 3-4 Online.

[68] See my list of the different kinds of sophisms and fallacies in Appendix1: A List of the Sophisms by Type of Sophism/Fallacy being Opposed.

[69] "Un chemin de fer négatif" (A Negative Railway),Sophismes économiques (1846), SE1 17, pp. 122-123 Online; CW3 ES1.17, pp. 81-83.

[70] "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window) (July 1850),CQV 1, pp. 5-8 Online; CW3, pp. 405-7.

[71] For example, the first English translation in 1846 translated the title as Popular Fallacies Regarding General Interests; in 1909 the Cobden Club published them as Economic Sophisms; or, Fallacies of Protection; and Patrick James Stirling's translation of 1873, entitled "Economic sophisms", was republished in 1944 by A.C. Hoiles as Social Fallacies. Social Fallacies by Frederic Bastiat. Translated from the 5th French edition by Patrick James Stirling, with a foreword by Rose Wilder Lane. Santa Ana, Calif. Register Publishing Co., 1944.

[72] SE1 "Conclusion", p. 164 Online.

[73] I have collected 16 of Bastiat's writings on class and plunder written between 1845 and 1851 into an anthology entitled La Spoliation, la Classe, et l’État (Plunder, Class, and State), with a lengthy introduction by me. See Frédéric Bastiat, La Spoliation, la Classe, et l’État (Plunder, Class, and State): An Anthology of Texts (1845-1851). Edited and with an Introduction by David M. Hart (Sydney: The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). Online.

[74] ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder) (Dec. 1846) Online ; CW3 ES2.01, pp. 113-30.

[75] La Loi (The Law). Published as a pamphlet, La Loi (The Law) (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850) Online; OC4, pp. 342-93 Online; CW2.9, pp. 107-46.

[76] References to "l'oligarchie anglaise" (the English oligarchy) can be found in his Introduction to his first book Cobden et la ligue, ou l’Agitation anglaise pour la liberté du commerce (Cobden and the League, or the English Movement for Free Trade) (June 1845). See pp. xiv-xv, xx, and lxviii. Online. The language he uses here is a good example of the "harsh" and "brutal" language which he called for in the sophism ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) (Jan. 1846), pp. 82-83, only a few months later. Online. It should noted that he began writing "sophisms" for the JDE in March 1845.

[77] In ES3.24 “Funestes illusions. Les citoyens font vivre l'État. L'État ne peut faire vivre les citoyens.” (Disastrous Illusions. Citizens make the State thrive. The State cannot make the citizens thrive), OC2, p. 466 Online.

[78] ES3 24 “Funestes illusions. Les citoyens font vivre l'État. L'État ne peut faire vivre les citoyens.” (Disastrous Illusions. Citizens make the State thrive. The State cannot make the citizens thrive), Journal des Économistes, March 1848, T. 19, pp. 323-33; OC2.70, pp. 466-82; CW3 ES3.24, p. 384. Quote OC2.70, p. 466 Online.

[79] “L’État” (The State), Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 2; OC, vol. 7, 59. pp. 238-40; CW2, pp. 105-6. See the complete set as images Online; and transcription of the French text: no. 1 Online. The complete set of the magazine has been republished by the Institut Coppet: Jacques Bonhomme: L’éphémère journal de Frédéric Bastiat et Gustave de Molinari (11 juin – 13 juillet 1848). Recueil de tous les articles, augmenté d’une introduction. Ed. Benoît Malbranque (Paris: Institut Coppet, 2014), pp. 23-25.

[80] “L’État,” Le Journal des débats politiques et littéraires (25 September 1848), pp. 1-2.

[81] A third revised and enlarged version with a new section on the Montagnards’ economic policies was published twice in 1849: as an article in Annuaire de l’économie politique et de la statistique pour 1849, par MM. Joseph Garnier et Guillaumin et al. Sixième année (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), pp. 356-68; and in a pamphlet L’État. Maudit Argent (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), pp. 5-23. This version also appeared in OC4, pp. 327-41 Online.

[82] "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies),Sophismes économiques II (1848), SE2 2, pp. 28-38 Online; CW3 ES2.02, pp. 131-38.

[83] "Deux Morales" SE2 II, p. 32 Online.

[84] "Deux Morales" SE2 II, p. 36 Online.

[85] "Deux Morales" SE2 II, pp. 32-33 Online.

[86] "Deux Morales" SE2 II, pp. 37-38 Online

[87] "Deux Morales" SE2 II, p. 33 Online

[88] See my essay on “The Use of Economic Stories to explain Economic Ideas"; my paper on "Literature IN Economics, and Economics AS Literature I: Bastiat’s use of Literature in the defense of Free Markets and his Rhetoric of Economic Liberty" (2015). A paper given to the Association of Private Enterprise Education International Conference (April 12–14, 2015). Online; and my unfinished paper "Literature in Economics, and Economics as Literature II: The Economics of Robinson Crusoe from Defoe to Rothbard by way of Bastiat" (2015) Online.

[89] ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) Le Libre-Échange, 17 Jan. 1847, no. 8, pp. 63-64; SE2 11, pp. 101-111 Online; CW3 ES2.11, pp. 187-98.

[90] ES3.25 "Barataria" (c. 1848); OC7.77, pp. 343-51 Online.

[91] ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates); SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.

[92] SE1, p. 164 online.

[93] There were two levels of Councils which formally advised the government on economic matters. At the Departmental level there were the "Conseils Généraux de Département" (General Council of the Department) and at the national level there were the Councils for Commerce , Manufacturing, and Agriculture.

[94] PS 2 "Sophismes électoraux" (Electoral Sophisms) (n.d.), OC7, p. 271-80 online; CW1, pp. 397-404.

[95] PS 1 "Les élections. Dialogue entre un profond Publiciste et un Campagnard" (The Elections. A Dialog between a deep-thinking Supporter and a Countryman) (n.d. c.1847), OC7, p. 280-88 online; CW1, pp. 404-9.

[96] ES2 10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) (n.d. c.1847), SE2 10, OC4, pp. 198-203 online; ES2 10 in CW3, pp. 179-87.

[97] ES2 11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) (Jan. 1847, LE), SE2 11, OC4, pp. 204-12 online; ES2 11 in CW3, pp. 187-98.

[98] The first draft of the essay: PS 3 "L'État" (The State) (11-15 June 1848 JB ), OC7, p. 238-40 online; CW2, pp. 104-5; the second enlarged version: PS 4 "L'État" (The State) (25 Sept. 1848 Journal des débats, OC4, pp. 327-41 online; CW2, pp. 93-104; and the further enlarged pamphlet version: S05 "L’État" (The State) in a pamphlet L'État. Maudit Argent (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), pp. 5-23. PDF.

[99] Bastiat makes no explicit reference to the ricochet effect in ES1 (published January 1846), there are nine explicit references in ES2 and ES3 (articles written between January 1846 and February 1848, with a maximum of five references in the article ES3 18 “Monita Secreta” in February 1848), four references in speeches and other writings in 1847-48, one reference in 1849, and seven in 1850 (consisting of two in other writings and five in Economic Harmonies), for a total of 21 uses of the word.

[100] "Septième discours, à Paris" (Seventh Speech given in Paris in the Montesquieu Hall". OC2.48, pp. 311-28 Online. Quote OC2, pp. 320-21 Online.

[101] ES3.20 "Monita secreta", Le Libre-Échange, 20 Feb. 1848, no. 13 (2nd year), pp. 75-76; OC2.67, pp. 452-58 Online; CW3 ES3.20, pp. 371-77.

[102] See the definition of "Ricochet" in Vocabulaire de la langue française: extrait de la dernière édition du Dictionnaire de l'Académie publié en 1835, ed. Charles Nodier, Paul Ackermann (Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1836). See also the online dictionaries at Centre National de Resources Textuelles et Lexicales (CNRTL) Online elsewhere.

[103] Œuvres complètes de Ch Fourier. Tome sixième. Le Nouveau monde industriel et sociétaire (Paris: La Société pour la propagation et pour la réalisation de la théorie de Fourier, 1841), Section V. De l'équilibre général des passions, Chap. XXXVI "Des accords transcendants, ou ralliements de seize antipathies naturelles," p. 324-25.

[104] Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Qu'est-ce que la propriété?: ou recherches sur le principe du droit et du gouvernement. Premier mémoire (Paris: Prévot, 1841), p. 203.

[105] Louis Reybaud, Jérôme Paturot à la recherche d'une position sociale. Édition illustrée par J. J. Grandville (Paris: J.J. Dubochet, 1846), Chap. XIII. "Paturot publiciste officiel. - Son ami l'homme de lettres," pp. 126-27.

[106] Other words one could use for "ricochet" include the following: ripples, trickle down, flow on, knock on, cascading (Bastiat uses the word "rejaillir" or splashing), bouncing, indirect, and so on.

[107] Chap. XI "Producteur - Consommateur", HE, pp. 348-49 Online.

[108] In ES3.04 "Un profit contre deux pertes" (One Profit against Two Losses) (9 May, 1847), OC2.57, p. 377 Online.

[109] ES3.07 "Deux pertes contre un profit. À M. Arago, de l’Académie des Sciences" (Two Losses against One Profit. A Letter addressed to M. Arago of the Academy of Sciences) (30 May 1847), OC2.58, p. 389 Online.

[110] François Arago (1786–1853) was a famous astronomer and physicist whose work was noticed by Pierre-Simon Laplace, who got him the position of secretary and librarian at the Paris Observatory. At the young age of twenty-three he was appointed to the Academy of Sciences (1809), and in 1812 he became a professor of analytical geometry at the École polytechnique. François was also active in republican politics during the July Monarchy and was an elected deputy for its entire duration. He is mentioned several times in Bastiat’s correspondence. After the outbreak of the Revolution in February 1848 he became minister of War, the Navy, and Colonies, and played an important role in the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.

[111] ES3 XVIII. “Monita secreta” (The Secret Handbook) [20 february 1848, *lé*] [*oc*, vol. 2, pp. 452-58].

[112] See my paper “Negative Railways, Turtle Soup, talking Pencils, and House owning Dogs: ‘The French Connection’ and the Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" (Sept. 2014) Online. A shorter version of this was published as "Broken Windows and House-Owning Dogs: The French Connection and the Popularization of Economics from Bastiat to Jasay," Symposium on Anthony de Jasay, The Independent Review (Summer 2015), vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 61-84. Online at Independent Review.

[113] Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869) was a soldier, politician, polymath writer, and pamphleteer and agitator for the Anti–Corn Law League. He was a member of the Philosophical Radicals, who were inspired by the utilitarian and reformist ideas of Jeremy Bentham. Thompson was active in urging Catholic emancipation, the repeal of the Corn Laws, and the abolition of slavery, and played a leading role in managing the reformist journal the Westminster Review. His most significant works include The True Theory of Rent (1829), A Catechism on the Corn Laws; With a List of Fallacies and the Answers (1827), and Contre-enquête par l’homme aux quarante écus (1835), a defense of free trade written in response to a French government inquiry. He published a collection of his essays as Exercises, Political and Others (1842).

[114] Charles Dupin (1784–1873) was a naval engineer who attended the École polytechnique and later became Minister of the Navy. He taught mathematics at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers and also ran courses for ordinary working people. He is one of the founders of mathematical economics and of the statistical office of France. In 1828 he was elected deputy for Tarn, was made a peer in 1830, and served in the Constituent and then the National Assembly during the Second Republic. His major work was Le petit producteur français (7 vols.).

[115] Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769–1858) was the daughter of a Swiss businessman, she lived in London and married a Swiss doctor who had come to know her through her writings. She wrote introductory works on science and political economy which were designed to be accessible to ordinary working people. The works on political economy were highly regarded by Jean-Baptiste Say, who acknowledged that she was the first woman to have written on economic matters and in many respects wrote better than some men, and John R. MacCulloch, who regarded her works as excellent introductions to the study of economics. Two of her works were translated into French and were thus quite likely known by Bastiat: Conversations on Political Economy (1816) and Johns Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833).

[116] Harriet Martineau (1802–76) was an English writer who was born in Norwich to a family of French Huguenots who had fled religious persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Her father was a textile manufacturer, and her loss of her senses of taste, smell, and hearing turned her toward reading widely and writing. She was unusual for becoming a professional full-time writer at a time when few women were able to pursue such a career. She was a translator, novelist, speechwriter, and journalist who wrote a popular defense of the free market. She pioneered travel writing after a trip to America, and she wrote on the woman question. She first became interested in writing about economic matters after reading about machine-breaking riots in Manchester and then reading Conversations on Political Economy (1816) by Jane Marcet. Her educational tales or Illustrations of Political Economy appeared in nine volumes and provided an introduction to economic principles written in narrative form. They were published between 1832 and 1834, sold well, and were quickly translated into French. Gustave de Molinari reviewed an edition published by the classical liberal publishing firm Guillaumin for the Journal des économistes in April 1849. In this review, Molinari said that “[s]he deserves her double reputation for being an ingenious storyteller and a learned professor of political economy.”

[117] The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published under the Superintendence of his Executor, John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1838-1843). 11 vols. Online.

[118] Jeremy Bentham, Théorie des peines et des recompenses, ouvrage extrait des manuscrits de M. Jérémie Bentham, jurisconsulte anglais. Par M. Et. Dumont, Troisime edition. (Paris: Bossange frères, 1826, 1st edition 1811).

[119] The motto at the head of Economic Sophisms Series I (1846) was "En économie politique, il y a beaucoup à apprendre et peu à faire." (In political economy there is a lot to learn and very little to do) Online which comes from Théorie des peines et des recompenses, p. 270; the motto at the head of Economic Sophisms Series II (1848) was the advice Diogenes supposedly gave Alexander about what was his best course of action: "La requête de l’industrie au gouvernement est aussi modeste que celle de Diogène à Alexandre : Ôte-toi de mon soleil" (The demand by industry of the government is as modest as that made by Diogenes to Alexander: Get out of my sunlight!) Online which is a variation of the Physiocratic call for "Laissez faire". It comes from Bentham, Théorie des peines et des recompenses (1811), Tome Second, Book IV. "Des encouragements par rapport à l'industrie et au commerce," p. 271.

[120] "Sophismes anarchiques," pp. 271-392 in Tactique des Assemblées législatives, suivie d'un Traité des Sophismes politiques; Ouvrage extrait des manuscrits de M. Jérémie Bentham, Jusiconsulte anglois, par Ét. Dumont, Membre du Conseil Représentatif du Canton de Genve, Tome II (Genve: J. J.Paschoud, 1816). The English language edition of "Anarchical Fallacies: Being and Examination of the Declaration of Rights issued during the French Revolution" appeared in vol. 2 of The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published under the Superintendence of his Executor, John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1838-1843). 11 vols. OLL version Online; my version Online. See also Nonsense upon Stilts: Bentham, Burke and Marx on the Rights of Man, edited with introductory and concluding essays by Jeremy Waldron (London: Methuen, 1987). Bentham's famous dismissal of natural rights as "nonsense upon stilts" can be found in this volume: "Natural rights is simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible rights, rhetorical nonsense,—nonsense upon stilts." Online.

[121] "Traité des Sophismes politiques", pp. 1-267 in Tactique des Assemblées législatives, suivie d'un Traité des Sophismes politiques; Ouvrage extrait des manuscrits de M. Jérémie Bentham, Jusiconsulte anglois, par Ét. Dumont, Membre du Conseil Représentatif du Canton de Genve, Tome II (Genve: J. J.Paschoud, 1816). An English version of the book appeared in 1824 with the editorial assistance of the Benthamite Peregrine Bingham the YoungerJeremy Bentham,: my online edition of The Book of Fallacies: From Unfinished Papers Of Jeremy Bentham. By a Friend. (London : Published by John and H. L. Hunt, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden. 1824) Online. For a modern edition, see Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies, revised and edited by Harold A. Larrabee. Introduction to the Torchbook edition by Crane Brinton (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962); and the Bowring edition in The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published under the Superintendence of his Executor, John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1838-1843). 11 vols. Vol. 2. THE BOOK OF FALLACIES: FROM UNFINISHED PAPERS OF JEREMY BENTHAM. EDITED BY A FRIEND. Online.

[122] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 1 Online.

[123] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies, Brinton's Introduction (1962), p. xi.

[124] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 4 Online.

[125] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 6 Online.

[126] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 6 Online.

[127] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 8 Online.

[128] ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss) (c.1847); OC7.75, pp. 327-28 Online; CW3 ES3.15, pp. 341-43.

[129] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 10 Online.

[130] Jeremy Bentham, Handbook of Political Fallacies (1824), p. 11 Online.

[131] The Conclusion of Economic Sophisms I, p. 164, Online..

[132] However, it should be noted that Bastiat did write a number of what might be called "political sophisms". See the discussion above.

[133] Charles Dupin, Le petit producteur français, in 7 vols. Volume 4: "Le petit commerçant français" (Paris: Bachelier, 1827), p. ix-x.

[134] "A la jeunesse française" in Frédéric Bastiat, Harmonies économiques. 2me Édition. Augmentée des manuscrits laissés par l’auteur. Publiée par la Société des amis de Bastiat. (Paris: Guillaumin, 1851), p. 1.

[135] "Le petit commerçant français", p. ix-x.

[136] ES2 X "Le Percepteur" Online which is a discussion between Jacque Bonhomme, a "vigneron" (vintner) and M. Lasouche, a "percepteur" (tax collector). SE2 p. 93. CW3, pp. 179 ff.

[137] Perronnet Thompson, Catechism on the Corn Laws; with a List of Fallacies and Answers (1st published 1827; 2nd ed. London: James Ridgway, 1827).

[138] ES2.04 "Conseil inférieur du travail)" (The Lower Council of Labor); SE2 4, pp. 44-48 Online; CW3 ES2.04, pp. 142-46. Quote p. 46 Online.

[139] Jean-Baptiste Say, Catéchisme d'économie politique, ou Instruction familière qui montre de quelle façon les richesses sont produites, distribuées et consommées dans la société (Paris : impr. de Crapelet, 1815). Translated into English, Catechism of political economy: or, Familiar conversations on the manner in which wealth is produced, distributed, and consumed in society, trans. John Richter (London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1816).

[140] Jean-Baptiste Say, Jean Baptiste Say, Petit volume contenant quelques apperçus des hommes et de la société (Paris: Deterville, 1817).

[141] Perronnet Thompson, Corn Law Fallacies, with the Answers (London: Effingham Wilson, 1839).

[142] Perronnet Thompson, Contre-enquête par l’homme aux quarante écus: Examen de l’enquête commerciale de 1834. (Brussels: Association belge pour la réforme douanière, 1835).

[143] Jane Haldimand Marcet, Conversations on Political Economy; in which the elements of that science are familiarly explained, (1816) 6th edition revised and enlarged (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1827).

[144] Jane Haldimand Marcet, Pamphlet Essays: Under the Superintendence of the Society for the Improvement of the Working Population in the County of Glamorgan, vol. 8-11 (Cardiff: W. Bird, Duke-Street, 1831).

[145] Jane Haldimand Marcet, John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1833).

[146] Jane Haldimand Marcet, Conversations sur l'économie politique, dans lesquelles on expose d'une manière familière les éléments de cette science, etc trad. Par G. Prevost, neveu de l'auteur (Geneva and Paris: Paschoud, 1817).

[147] See my paper “Negative Railways, Turtle Soup, talking Pencils, and House owning Dogs: ‘The French Connection’ and the Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" (Sept. 2014) Online.

[148] Marcet, Conversations on Political Economy (1827), pp. iii-vi

[149] Marcet, "Conversation XIX. On Foreign Trade," Conversations on Political Economy (1827), pp. 394-413. Quote pp. 407-409

[150] Marcet, "The Rich and the Poor. A Fairy Tale" in John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833), pp. 1-3.

[151] Marcet, "The Rich and the Poor. A Fairy Tale" in John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833), pp. 7-8.

[152] Marcet, "Wages. A Fairy Tale", in John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833), pp. 11-26

[153] Marcet, "The Three Giants", in John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833), pp. 27-64

[154] Marcet, "The Three Giants", in John Hopkins’s Notions on Political Economy (1833), pp. 61-63

[155] Harriet Martineau, Retrospect of Western Travel in Three Vols (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838). LF edition Online.

[156] Harriet Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy (3rd ed) in 9 vols. (London: Charles Fox, 1832).

[157] Translated as Harriet Martineau, Contes de Miss Harriet Martineau sur l'économie politique, trans. Barthélémy Maurice (Paris: G. Vervloet, 1834). Molinari reviewed Martineau's book for the Journal des Économistes in April 1849 just as he began working on his own collection of conversations on economic topics. See, Molinari, Les Soirées de la rue Saint-Lazare; entretiens sur les lois économiques et défense de la propriété (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849), and Conservations familières sur le commerce des grains (Paris: Guillaumin, 1855), and Conversations sur le commerce des grains et la protection de l’agriculture (Paris: Guillaumin, 1886). Molinari's review: Molinari, [cr] “Contes sur l’économie politique, par miss Harriet Martineau,” JDE, N° 97. 15 avril 1849, pp. 77-82.

[158] Harriet Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy (3rd ed) in 9 vols. (London: Charles Fox, 1832). Vol. 2. Demerara: A Tale. Chapter II. "Law endangers Property in Demerara”, pp. 22-24.

[159] Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy, Vol. 2. Demerara: A Tale, pp. 141-42.

[160] Harriet Martineau, Illustrations of Political Economy (3rd ed) in 9 vols. (London: Charles Fox, 1834). Vol. 9, pp. 1-2.

[161] See my paper “Negative Railways, Turtle Soup, talking Pencils, and House owning Dogs: ‘The French Connection’ and the Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" (Sept. 2014) Online.

[162] Soirées de la rue Saint-Lazare. Entretiens sur les lois économiques et défense de la propriété (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849). Online.

[163] Conversations familières sur le commerce des grains (Paris: Guillaumin, 1855) which comprised a series of conversations on free trade in wheat between a "Rioter", a "Prohibitionist", and an "Economist". PDF.

[164] ES2.10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector), p. 99. Online.

[165] ES1.10 "Réciprocité" (Reciprocity), p. 88. Online.

[166] ES2.05 "Cherté, bon marché" (High Prices and Low Prices), p. 51. Online.

[167] ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand), p. 172. Online. "Gaucherie" on p. 181 Online.

[168] ES3.13 "La peur d’un mot" (The Fear of a Word), OC2, p. 392. Online.

[169] OC2, 393 Online.

[170] ES3.17 "Le petit manuel du consommateur ou de tout le monde" (A Little Manual for Consumers, in other words for Everyone), OC2, p. 409 Online.

[171] OC2, p. 409 Online.

[172] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy), p. 82. Online.

[173] Molière, Théatre complet de Molière 4:86. In Théâtre complet de J.-B. Poquelin de Molière, publié par D. Jouast en huit volumes avec la préface de 1682, annotée par G. Monval. Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1882–83.

[174] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy), pp. 82-83. Online. The reference to Harpagon and Elise is to another Molière play L’Avare (The Miser), act 1, scene 4. The miserly moneylender, Harpagon, asks his daughter, Elise, who wishes to get away from the family by marrying Valère, whether she fears the fact of marriage or the word “marriage.” She is more concerned about her father not taking into account their love for each other but only financial concerns (Molière, Théatre complet de Molière 6:23).

[175] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy), p. 84 Online.

[176] ES3.24 "Funestes illusions" (Disastrous Illusions) (JDE March 1848) OC2.70 Online. Quote OC2, pp. 466-67 Online.

[177] See my paper "Images of Liberty and Power: Béranger's Songs of Liberty" (Oct. 2011) Online.

[178] "Le Roi d'Yvetot" (Mai 1813), in Oeuvres complètes de P.-J. de Béranger. Nouvelle édition revue par l’auteur. Illustrée de cinquante-deux belles gravures sur acier entièrement in édites, d’après les dessins de MM. Charlet, A. de Lemud, Johannot, Daubigny, Pauquet, Jacques, J. Lange, Pinguilly, de Rudder, Raffet (Paris: Perrotin, 1847), pp. 1-3. Béranger’s Songs of the Empire, the Peace, and the Restoration, trans. Robert B. Brough (London: Addey and Co., 1854), pp. 21-24. See also Leroux and Hart, pp. 137-38. Bastiat mentions "Le Roi d'Yvetot" in ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates), p. 134 Online but the lines he quotes are from another poem "Le petit homme gris" (The Little Gray Man). The Gray Man is so cold and poor he cannot afford to buy fuel for the fire so he has to warms his fingers by blowing on them. Œuvres complètes de P.J. de Béranger, Tome I (1847 ed.), p. 27.

[179] Pierre Jean de Béranger, Œuvres complètes de P.J. de Béranger. Nouvelle édition revue par l'auteur. Illustrée de cinquante-deux belles gravures sur acier entièrement inédites.Tome Second. (Paris: Perrotin, 1847)., pp. 20-21.; Béranger’s Songs of the Empire, the Peace, and the Restoration, trans. Robert B. Brough (London: Addey and Co., 1854), pp. 109-111. Also in Leroux and Hart, French Liberalism in the 19th Century: An Anthology. Edited by Robert Leroux and David M. Hart (London: Routledge, 2012), pp. 142-43.

[180] "Deux articles sur la langue basque" (Two Articles on the Basque Language), La Chalosse, 1-8 April 1838; CW1, p. 305-08.

[181] "Les Contrebandiers" (The Smugglers) in Chansons nouvelles et dernière de P.J. de Béranger, dédiées à M. Lucien Bonaparte (Paris: Perrotin, 1833), vol. 3, pp. 135-40. See also Leroux and Hart, pp. 147-49. Pierre-Jean de Béranger, Béranger’s Songs of the Empire, the Peace, and the Restoration, trans. Robert B. Brough (London: Addey and Co., 1854).

[182] "Letter 18. Letter to Félix Coudroy" (Bayonne 5 August 1830), OC1, p. 27 Online; CW1, p. 30. In a second letter to Coudroy dated Paris May 1845 Bastiat relates his first meeting with the political economists in Paris at a formal dinner hosted by the publisher Guillaumin. Béranger was part of the circle of Parisian political economists and had been invited to attend the welcoming dinner for Bastiat but declined because he had another engagement. [*collected works*, vol. 2, p. 59]. In a third letter to Coudroy dated Paris 22 March 1846 Bastiat tells him that "our good Béranger" had joined the French Free Trade Association, OC1, p. 68 Online ; CW1, p. 95.

[183] 12 ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.

[184] Chansons de Béranger. Nouvelle édition (Bruxelles: A. Wahlen, 1832), pp. 442-447.

[185] ES3.04 "Un profit contre deux pertes" (One Profit against Two Losses), Le Libre-Échange, 9 May 1847, no. 24, p. 192; OC2.57, pp. 377-84 Online; CW3 ES3.04, pp. 271-76. Quoted in OC2, p. 379 Online.

[186] ES1.05 "Nos produits sont grevés de taxes" (Economic Sophisms (cont.): V Our Products are weighed down with Taxes) Journal des Économistes, July 1845, T.11, no. 44, p. 356-60; SE1 5, pp. 58-65 Online; OC4.1.5, pp. 46-52 Online; CW3 ES10.5, pp. 39-44. See the Fables de La Fontaine, illustréees par J.J. Grandeville. Nouvelle edition, Tome 1 (Paris: H. Fournier ainé, 1838), Book III, Fable XVII, p. 121.

[187] From La Fontaine, Fables de La Fontaine, illustrées par J. J. Grandeville. Nouvelle edition. (Paris: H. Fournier ainé, 1838), Bk. 3, Fable 17, p. 121.

[188] ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) Le Libre-Échange, 17 Jan. 1847, no. 8, pp. 63-64; SE2 11, pp. 101-111 Online; OC4, pp. 203-12 Online; CW3 ES2.11, pp. 187-98.

[189] Gustave Boissonade, La Fontaine, économiste: Conférence publique et gratuite faire à la Faculté de Droit de Paris, le dimanche 11 février 1872 (Paris: Guillaumin, 1872).

[190] Propriété et spoliation (Property and Plunder) Journal des Débats, 24 July 1848; Also published as a pamphlet, Propriété et spoliation (Property and Plunder), ed. Prosper Paillottett (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850); OC4.5, pp. 394-441 Online; CW2.10, pp. 147-84. Reference to Andrieux OC4, p. 410 Online.

[191] "The Miller and Sans-Souci" first appeared in Contes et opuscules en vers et en prose (Paris: Renouard, 1800) and was reprinted in Œuvres de François-Guillaume-Jean-Stanislas Andrieux, (Paris: Chez Nepveu, Librairie, 1818), vol. 3, pp. 205-8.

[192] Andrieux, Contes et opuscules (1800), pp. 47-48.

[193] Bastiat quotes the line "Il y a des juges à Berlin" (there are judges in Berlin) in Propriété et spoliation (Property and Plunder), ed. Prosper Paillottett (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850); OC4, pp. 394-441 Online; CW2.10, pp. 147-84. Reference to Andrieux OC4, p. 410 Online.

[194] See Oeuvres choisies de Ch. Perrault, de l’Académie française, avec les mémoires de l’auteur, et des recherches sur les contes des fees, par M. Collin de Plancy (Paris: Brissot-Thivars, 1826).

[195] ES3.18 "Le maire d’Énios" (The Mayor of Énios) Le Libre-Échange, 6 Feb. 1848, no. 11 (2nd year), pp. 63-64; OC2.63, pp. 418-29 Online; CW3 ES3.18, pp. 355-65.

[196] Le Moniteur industriel (1839–) was the journal of the protectionist Association pour la défense du travail national (Association for the Defense of National Employment) founded by Mimerel de Roubaix in 1846.

[197] HE, p. 188 Online. Florian, Fable XX. l’Aveugle et le Paralytique, in Fables de Florian. Nouvelle édition , revue, corrigée, et suivie de Tobie, et de Ruth, poèmes tirés de l’Ecriture sainte (Paris: A. Ledentu, 1844), pp. 48-49.

[198] ES2.09 "Le vol à la prime" (Theft by Subsidy) Journal des Économistes, Jan. 1846, T. XIII, no. 50, pp. 115-120; SE2 9, pp. 82-92 Online; OC4, pp. 189-98 Online; CW3 ES2.09, pp. 170-179.

[199] ES2.01 "Physiologie de la Spoliation" (The Physiology of Plunder) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 1, pp. 1-27; SE2 1, pp. 1-27 Online; OC4, pp. 127-48 Online; CW3 ES2.01, pp. 113-30; and ES2.02 "Deux morales" (Two Moral Philosophies) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 2, pp. 28-38; SE2 2, pp. 28-38 Online; OC4, pp. 148-56 Online; CW3 ES2.02, pp. 131-38. These were followed by several other pamphlets in 1848-49 on various aspects of plunder. See the anthology La Spoliation, la Classe, et l’État (Plunder, Class, and State) (2023), with a lengthy introduction by me. Online.

[200] Théâtre complet de J.-B. Poquelin de Molière, publié par D. Jouast en huit volumes avec la preface de 1682, annotée par G. Monval, vol. 4 (Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1882), p. 86.

[201] Quoted in ES2 11 “L'utopiste (The Utopian) (January 1847), p. 102 Online; from Théâtre complet de J.-B. Poquelin de Molière, publié par D. Jouast en huit volumes avec la preface de 1682, annotée par G. Monval, vol. 4 (Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1882), pp. 86-87.

[202] See Théâtre complet de J.-B. Poquelin de Molière, publié par D. Jouast en huit volumes avec la preface de 1682, annotée par G. Monval, vol. 8 (Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1883), Third Interlude, p. 286. FEE translation Economic Sophisms, p. 194.

[203] ES2 09 “Le vol à la prime” (Theft by Subsidy) (January 1846), p. 88 Online.

[204] Quoted in HE, p. 81 Online. See, Oeuvres complètes de Molière. Édition revue sur les textes originaux, précédée de l'éloge de Molière par Chamfort et de sa vie par Voltaire. (Paris: A. Sautelet et comp., 1825), p. 481.

[205] Condillac, Chap. VI "Comment le commerce augmente la masse des richesse", in Le Commerce et le Gouvernement, Considérés Relativement l'un à l'autre. Ouvrage Élémentaire, Par M. L'abbé de Condillac, de L'Académie Françoise, & Membre de la Société Royale d'Agriculture d'Orléans. (A Amsterdam, Et se trouve à Paris, Chez Jombert & Cellot, Libraires, rue Dauphine. M. DCC. LXXVI. (1776)), Online.

[206] Quoted in the Conclusion, SE1, p. 158 Online. See "Imitations en vers français. Ode XXX – Livre III," in Oeuvres complètes d'Horace. Éditions polyglotte publiée sous la direction de J.B. Monfalcon (Paris: Cormon et Blanc, 1834), p. 229.

[207] ES1 Conclusion, p. 158 Online.

[208] Benjamin Constant, “De la liberté des anciens comparée à celle des modernes. Discours prononcé à l’Athénée royal de Paris” (1819) in Collection complète des ouvrages publiés sur le gouvernement représentatif et la constitution actuelle de la France, formant une espèce de cours de politique constitutionnelle. Quatrième volume, septième partie. (Paris/Rouen: Béchet, 1820), pp. 238-274. Online. In English: Benjamin Constant, "The Liberty of the Ancients and the Moderns" (1819) in Leroux and Hart, pp. 68-82.

[209] Letter to Mme Cheuvreux, Paris, March 1850, in Frédéric Bastiat, Lettres d’un habitant des Landes (Paris: A. Quantin, 1877), pp. 60-61 Online ; CW1, p. 163.

[210] ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79. Reference OC2, p. 459 Online.

[211] On "plunder by theocratic fraud" see "Commentary" in ES2 1 “Physiologie de la Spoliation” (The Physiology of Plunder), p. 13 Online. See also my essay on "Theocratic Plunder".

[212] Chap. III “Besoins, efforts, satisfactions” (Needs, Efforts, Satisfaction), HE pp. 58-59 Online

[213] Montaigne, "Le profit d'un et dommage de l'autre," in Essais de Montaigne, suivis de sa correspondance et de la servitude voluntaire d'Estienne de la Boëtie. Édition variorum, accompangné d'une notice biographique de notes historiques, philologiques, etc. et d'un index analytique par Charles Louandre. 4 Vols. Paris: Charpentier, 1862. Tome 1, chapter XXI "Le profit d'un et dommage de l'autre," pp. 130-31.

[214] ES3.15 "Le profit de l’un est le dommage de l’autre" (One Man’s gain is another Man’s Loss) (c.1847); OC7.75, pp. 327-28 Online; CW3 ES3.15, pp. 341-43.

[215] "Troisième discours, à Paris" (Third Speech given in Paris at the Taranne Hall); OC2.44, pp. 246-59 Online. Quote OC2, p. 254 Online.

[216] "Les deux devises" (The Two Sayings), HE, chap. 12 pp. 355-56 Online.

[217] See Célébration à Nauvoo du septième anniversaire du départ de la première avant garde Icarienne, 3 février 1848 (Paris: n.p., 1855), p. 125.

[218] See my essay on "Association and Organization".

[219] See Bastiat's chapter on "Organisation Naturelle. Organisation Artificielle", HE, pp. 15-33.

[220] See my essays on "Mechanics and Organizers" and "Rule by Functionaries."

[221] See "Solidarité", HE, chap. XXI.. pp. 536-42.

[222] "Il faut cultiver notre jardin", in [voltaire], Candide, Ou L’optimisme, Traduit de l’Allemand de Mr. Le Docteur Ralph. MDCCLIX (1759), pp. 292, 294 Online.

[223] Pierre Leroux, Le carrosse de M. Aguado. Fragment (Boussac: Imprmerie de pierre Leroux, 1848), p. 13.

[224] Quoted in "Chronique," JDE, T.40, no. 11, 15 nov. 1854, p. 315.

[225] HE, p. 356 Online.

[226] HE, p. 355 Online.

[227] There is no entry for "socier" in Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. Sixième Édition. T.2 (1835). The definition of "la sociabilité" is "Aptitude à vivre en société. La sociabilité est une disposition naturelle à l' espèce humaine. On remarque dans certaines espèces d' animaux une sorte de sociabilité." "Dictionnaires d'autrefois" ARTFL Project, University of Chicago Online. The etymology of the verb "to associate" is from the Latin associatus past participle of associare to "join with," from the assimilated form of ad "to" and sociare to "unite with," from socius "companion, ally". Thus "socier" might be translated as "to unite or join with".

[228] HE, p. 356 Online.

[229] HE, p. 380 Online.

[230] In HE chap. IV "Échange" (Exchange), p. 99 Online, and the Addendum to chap VI La Richesse (Wealth), p. 187 Online.

[231] HE, chap. IX "Proriété foncière" (Landed Property), p. 290 Online.

[232] "Troisième discours, à Paris" (Third Speech given in Paris at the Taranne Hall); OC2, p. 255 Online.

[233] HE chap. 4 Échange p. 97 Online.

[234] HE, Chap. IV "Échange", pp. 98-99 Online.

[235] "Un économiste à M. de Lamartine. A l’occasion de son écrit intitulé: Du Droit au travail" (Letter from an Economist to M. de Lamartine. On the occasion of his article entitled: *The Right to a Job"),Journal des Économistes, Feb. 1845, T.10, no. 39, pp. 209-223; OC1.9, pp. 406-28 Online.

[236] See for example, Charles Fourier, Le Nouveau monde industriel et sociétaire ou invention du procédé d'industrie attrayante et naturelle, distribuée en séries passionnées (Paris: Bossange père, 1829); Étienne Cabet, Voyage et aventures de lord William Carisdall en Icarie (Paris: H. Souverain, 1840); and David M. Hart, " 'New' Socialist Ideas in the 1848 Revolution: An Anti-Socialist Cartoon by Amédée de Noé" Online Library of Liberty Online at OLL..

[237] ES2.11 "L’utopiste" (The Utopian) Le Libre-Échange, 17 Jan. 1847, no. 8, pp. 63-64; SE2 11, pp. 101-111 Online; OC4, pp. 203-12 Online; CW3 ES2.11, pp. 187-98.

[238] The free traders in England and France agreed that 5% was the upper limit for a "revenue raising" tariff, whereas anything over 5% should be regarded as "protectionist."

[239] Bastiat might also have seen something of himself in Sancho he was appointed to the position of magistrate or Justice of the Peace in Mugron on May 28, 1831 in spite of not having any formal legal training. He developed a reputation for delivering prompt and effective rulings in spite of this lack of training.

[240] See my essay on "Mechanics and Organizers".

[241] The Complete Works of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in Twelve Volumes. ed. James Fitzmaurice-Kelly (Gowans & Gray, 1901). Vol. 6. Second Part of the Ingenious gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Quote comes from p. 92.

[242] ES3.25 "Barataria" (c. 1848); OC7.77, pp. 343-51 Online. Speech OC7, pp. 349-50 Online.

[243] ES3.12 "L’indiscret. - Questions sur les effets des restrictions" (The Man who asked Embarrassing Questions (Dec. 1847). Quote p. 436 Online.

[244] ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.

[245] ES1.17 "Un chemin de fer négatif" (A Negative Railway) Sophismes économiques (1846), chap. 17, pp. 122-123; SE1 17, pp. 122-123 Online; OC4, pp. 93-94 Online; CW3 ES1.17, pp. 81-83.

[246] ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Dec. 1846, no. 3, p. 24; SE2 16, pp. 172-181 Online; OC4, pp. 258-65 Online; CW3 ES2.16, pp. 140-48.

[247] SE2 16, pp. 177 and 180 Online and Online.

[248] Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron" (October 1961) originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

[249] Collection des Principaux Économistes. T. XIV. Mélanges d'économie politique I. D. Hume, Essais sur le commerce, le luxe, l'argent, l'intérêt de l'argent, les impôts, le crédit public, etc. Forbonnais, Principes économiques. Condillac, Le commerce et le gouvernement. Condorcet, Mélanges d'économie politique. Lavoisier et Lagrange, De la richesse territoriale du royaume de France. Essai d'arithmétique politique. B. Franklin, La science du bonhomme Richard, et autres opuscules. Précédés de notices historiques sur chaque auteur, et accompagnés de commentaires et de notes explicatives par MM. Eugène Daire et G. de Molinari (Paris: Guillaumin, 1847).

[250] ES2 1 “Physiologie de la Spoliation” (The Physiology of Plunder) (c. 1847), p. 22 Online.

[251] ES2.12 "Le sel, la poste et la douane" (Salt, the Mail, and the Customs Service) Journal des Économistes, May 1846, T. XIV, no. 54, pp. 142-152; SE2 12., pp. 112-133 Online; OC4, pp. 213-29 Online; CW3 ES2.12, pp. 198-214.

[252] ES2.03 "Les deux haches" (The Two Axes) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 3, pp. 39-43; SE2 3, pp. 39-43 Online; OC4, pp. 156-59 Online; CW3 ES2.03, pp. 138-42.

[253] ES2.10 "Le percepteur" (The Tax Collector) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 10, pp. 93-100; SE2 10, pp. 93-100 Online; OC4, pp. 198-203 Online; CW3 ES2.10, pp. 179-87.

[254] ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.

[255] ES2.16 "La main droite et la main gauche" (The Right Hand and the Left Hand) Le Libre-Échange, 13 Dec. 1846, no. 3, p. 24; SE2 16, pp. 172-181 Online; OC4, pp. 258-65 Online; CW3 ES2.16, pp. 140-48.

[256] See my essay on "Service pour service".

[257] ES2.13 "La protection ou les trois Échevins" (Protection, or the Three Municipal Magistrates) Sophismes économiques II (1848), chap. 13, pp. 134-149; SE2 13, pp. 134-149 Online; OC4, pp. 229-41 Online; CW3 ES2.13, pp. 214-26.

[258] "Variétés. Petites affiches de Jacques Bonhomme. I. Soulagement immédiat de peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) and "II. Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy), in Le Libre-Échange, 12 March 1848, 2nd Year, no. 17, p. 84. These were also reprinted on the same day in Bastiat's short-lived street magazine La République française which he and some friends handed out on the streets of Paris in late February and March ("Funeste remède" in La République française, mardi 14 mars 1848, p. 1, signed "F. Bastiat"). ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79.; ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) La République française, 14 March 1848, no. 17, p. 1; OC2.68.2, pp. 460-61 Online; CW3 ES3.22, pp. 379-80.

[259] Censorship came to an end with the collapse of the July Monarchy in the February Revolution and people exercised their new freedom of speech by forming political clubs where debates were held, the proliferation of small magazines, and plastering the walls of buildings with postes of all kinds. The political economists joined in this celebration of free speech with their own clubs, magazines and wall posters. Bastiat was involved in this with his two magazines, La République française in February 1848 and Jacques Bonhomme in June 1848. Some of the shorter articles in the latter were also used as wall posters. A collection of such wall posters from the 1848 Revolution was published in 1852. Bastiat's were not included but a few by the political economists were. See Anon., Les murailles révolutionnaires: Collection complète des Professions de foi, Affiches, Décrets, Bulletins de la République, Facsimile de signatures. (Paris et les Départements). Illustrées des portraits des membres du Gouvernement provisoire, des principaux chefs des Clubs, des Rédacteurs et Gérants des premiers journaux de la Révolution (Paris: Chez J. Bry (ainé), Édit., 1852). 1856 ed. 2 vols.

[260] ES3.21 "Soulagement immédiat du peuple" (The Immediate Relief of the People) La République française, 12 March 1848, no. 15, p. (??); OC2.68.1, pp. 459-60 Online; CW3 ES3.21, pp. 377-79.

[261] ES3.22 "Funeste remède" (A Disastrous Remedy) La République française, 14 March 1848, no. 17, p. 1; OC2.68.2, pp. 460-61 Online; CW3 ES3.22, pp. 379-80.

[262] PS03 "L’État" (The State),Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 2 ; OC7.59, pp. 238-40 Online; CW2.8, pp. 105-6. Quote pp. 239-40 Online.

[263] Le Libre-Échange. Journal de l’Association pour la liberté des échanges. 1er année. 1846-1847. (Paris: Guillaumin and Chaix, 1847). Guillaumin published the first 52 issues of the journal in book form. The 52nd issue was 21 Nov. 1847. The journal was closed down on 26 April, 1848. The last issue edited by Frédéric Bastiat was No. 12: 13 février 1848. Subsequent issues were edited by Charles Coquelin as Bastiat became increasingly busy during the revolution, editing and distributing the little magazine La République française and then standing for the April elections to the Constituent Assembly (which he won representing his home district of Les Landes). The PDFs of the book version can be accessed from here.

[264] La République française appeared daily between 26 February and 28 March 1848 in 30 issues. The PDFs can be accessed from here.

[265] Jacques Bonhomme. Editor J. Lobet. Founded by Bastiat with Gustave de Molinari, Charles Coquelin, Alcide Fonteyraud, and Joseph Garnier. It appeared approximately weekly with four issues between 11 June to 13 July; with a break between 24 June and 9 July because of the rioting during the June Days uprising. The first issue was a single page only on "papier rose" designed to be posted on the wall. Online.

[266] The magazine has been transcribed and reprinted in its entirety by the Institut Coppet: Jacques Bonhomme. L'éphémère journal de Frédéric Bastiat and Gustave de Molinari (11 juin - 13 juillet 1848). Receuil de tous les articles, augmenté d'une introduction, par Benoît Malbranque (Paris: Institut Coppet, 2014). My version can be accessed from here.

[267] JB issue 1 Online.

[268] See my paper on “Bastiat on the Seen and The Unseen: An Intellectual History” (June, 2022) Online.

[269] "La liberté" (Freedom), Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 1; OC7.56, pp. 235-36 Online; CW1, pp. 433-4.

[270] "Laisser-Faire", Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 1; OC7.57, pp. 237 Online; CW1, pp. 434-35.

[271] PS03 "L’État" (The State),Jacques Bonhomme, no. 1, 11-15 June 1848, p. 2 ; OC7.59, pp. 238-40 Online; CW2.8, pp. 105-6. Quote pp. 239-40 Online.

[272] JB2 Online. Coppet edition, p. 46.

[273] JB2 Online. Coppet edition, p. 51. See also ES3.27 "Prendre cinq et rendre quatre ce n’est pas donner" (Taking Five and giving back Four is not Giving) Jacques Bonhomme, no. 2, 15-18 June 1848, p. 1; OC7.60, pp. 240-42 Online.

[274] Bastiat, Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas, ou l'Économie politique en une leçon. Par M. F. Bastiat, Représentant du peuple à l'Assemblée nationale, Membre correspondant de l'Institut (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850). Online; CW3, pp. 401-52.

[275] Jacques Bonhomme appears in the following chapters of WSWNS: I. Là Vitre cassée, III. L'Impôt, VII. Restriction, VIII. Les Machines, IX. Crédit, and X. L'Algérie.. WS.01 "La vitre cassée" (The Broken Window); CQV 1, pp. 5-8 Online; OC5, pp. 337-40 Online; CW3, pp. 405-7

[276] See my paper "Literature in Economics, and Economics as Literature II: The Economics of Robinson Crusoe from Defoe to Rothbard by way of Bastiat" (2015) Online.

[277] Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, in 4 vols., ed. Bettina Bien Greaves (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2007). Vol. 1. "Introduction. 1: Economics and Praxeology".

[278] It is not well known that Defoe wrote a trilogy of novels about Robinson Crusoe. See, The Works of Daniel Defoe in Sixteen Volumes, edited by G.H. Maynadier (Boston: Old Corner Bookstore, 1903, The University Press). Volume One. The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Complete in Three Parts. Part I. With the Author’s Preface and, and an Introduction by G.H. Maynadier; Volume Two. The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Complete in Three Parts. Part II. Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; Volume Three. Part III. Serious reflections during the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe with his Vision of the Angelic World (1903).

[279] Robinson Crusoé, par Daniel de Foë. Traduction de Pétrus Borel (Paris: Francisque Borel et Alexandre Varenne, 1836), 2 vols.

[280] Aventures de Robinson Crusoé, par Daniel de Foé, traduites par Mme A. Tastu, suivi d’une Notice sur Foé et sur le matelot Selkirk, par Louis Reyabud, et ornées de 50 gravures sur acier, d’après les dessins de M. de Sainson (Paris: Didier, 1837). Reybaud's essay, Vol. 2, pp. 371-384.

[281] Richard Whately, Introductory Lectures on Political Economy, delivered in Easter Term 1831 (London: B. Fellowes, 2nd and enlarged ed. 1832). Chapter: Lecture I. "A man, for instance, in a desert island, like Alex. Selkirke, or the personage his adventures are supposed to have suggested, Robinson Crusoe, is in a situation of which Political-Economy takes no cognizance ". p. 8.

[282] Preface to Man, Economy and State, p. lvi in Murray N. Rothbard, Man, Economy and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles, with Power and Market: Government and the Economy. Second Edition. Scholar's Edition (Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2009).

[283] See Rothbard's discussion of “Crusoe social philosophy" in Murray N. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press, 1982), "6. A Crusoe Social Philosophy."

[284] "Organisation et liberté" (Organisation and Liberty), Journal des Économistes, T. XVI, Janvier 1847, no. 62, pp. 106-13; OC2.27, pp. 147-58 Online.

[285] Vidal was the editor of La Démocratie pacifique, La Presse, and La Revue indépendante. His major work De la repartition des richesses, ou de la justice distributive en économie sociale (1846), on the redistribution of wealth, was reviewed critically by Bastiat in Le Journal des économistes (vol. 14, p. 248). Again in Le Journal des économistes (vol. 16, pp. 106ff.), Bastiat also replied to five letters by Vidal that originally appeared in La Presse. During the 1848 revolution Vidal was secretary of the Luxembourg Commission under Louis Blanc which managed the National Workshops and other matters related to state support for unemployed workers.

[286] “Organisation and Liberty” (JDE, Jan. 1847), OC2, pp. 155-56 Online.

[287] ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill) an unpublished outline from 1847; OC2.60, pp. 400-09 Online; CW3 ES3.16, pp. 343-50.

[288] ES3.16 "Midi à quatorze heures" (Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill), quote OC2, p. 403 Online.

[289] ES3 16, "Midi à quatorze heures", OC2, p. 406 Online; CW3, p. 348. For Bastiat the freedom to refuse to enter into a trade was just as important as the freedom to negotiate one.

[290] ES2.14 "Autre chose" (Something Else) Le Libre-Échange, 21 March 1847, no. 17, pp. 135-36; SE2 14, pp. 150-162 Online.

[291] ES2 14 "Autre chose" (Something Else), SE2 XIV, p. 151 Online.

[292] ES2 14 "Autre chose", ES2 14, p. 153 Online.

[293] ES2 14 "Autre chose", ES2 14, pp. 161-62 Online.

[294] “Propriété et Spoliation" (Property and Plunder) (July 1848), Deuxième lettre., OC4, p. 404 Online; CW2, p. 155.

[295] See my essay on "Service for Service".

[296] “Le capital” (Capital) in Almanach Républicain pour 1849 (Paris: Pagnerre, 1849) ; OC7.64, pp. 248-55 Online.

[297] Quote: p. 249 Online.

[298] See my essay on Bastiat's idea of "Human Action" and the "Vocabulary Cluster" on Bastiat's idea of human action in the Appendix.

[299] "Harmonie économiques. I, II, III .Des besoins de l’homme" (Economic Harmonies: I., II., and III. The Needs of Man), Journal des économistes, T. XXI, No. 87, 1 Sept. 1848, pp. 105-20.

[300] HE, pp. 58-59 Online.

[301] See my essay "Economic Stories used to explain Economic Ideas".

[302] Henry C. Carey, The Harmony of Interests, Agricultural, Manufacturing, and Commercial (Philadelphia: J. S. Skinner, 1851).

[303] Principles of Political Economy, 3 vols. (Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1837-1840); Principles of Social Science, 3 vols. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1858-1860).

[304] The exception to this lack of humour is S38 which is an amusing story of a “bizarre transaction” in reverse which is classic Bastiat using the reductio ad absurdum argument to make his point.

[305] See Maas, Harro, et Mary S. Morgan. “Timing History: The Introduction of Graphical Analysis in 19th century British Economics,” Revue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines, vol. no 7, no. 2, 2002, pp. 97-127.

[306] See HE pp. 342, 344, 345, 346.

[307] See Donald N. McCloskey, The Rhetoric of Economics (Madison, Wisconsin : University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.

[308] In “To the Youth of France,” p. 1 Online.

[309] HE, p. 50 Online. The quote here comes from Molière's play Les Femmes savantes (The Learned Ladies) (1672). See Théâtre complet de J.-B. Poquelin de Molière, publié par D. Jouaust en huit volumes avec la préface de 1682, annotée par G. Monval, vol. 8 (Paris: Librairie des bibliophiles, 1882), "Les Femmes savantes," Act II, scene VII, p. 67.

[310] HE, p. 245 Online.

Bibliography↩

Abbreviations

• ES1: Economic Sophisms Series I (1846)
• ES2: Economic Sophisms Series II (1848)
• ES3: a third series which the editors have constructed from FB's OC
• WSWNS: What is Seen and What is Not Seen (1850)
• OC: Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat (1855, 1864), ed. Prosper Paillottet.
• CW: Liberty Fund's edition of The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat (2011-)
• JDE: Journal des économistes (1841-)
• LE: Le Libre-Échange (1846-48)
• JB: Jacques Bonhomme (June 1848)
• SEP: Société d'économie politique (Political Economy Society)
• LF: Liberty Fund
• FEE: Foundation for Economic Education

Papers by David M. Hart on Bastiat and French Political Economy

On French Political Economy in general

David M. Hart, “The Paris School of Liberal Political Economy” in The Cambridge History of French Thought, ed. Michael Moriarty and Jeremy Jennings (Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 301-12.

• a longer version is “The Paris School of Liberal Political Economy, 1803-1853”. A Paper given at the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia Annual Conference, Melbourne VIC, 22 Sept. 2022. Online.

David M. Hart, "For Whom the Bell Tolls: The School of Liberty and the Rise of Interventionism in French Political Economy in the Late 19thC," and a translation of Frédéric Passy, “The School of Liberty” in Journal of Markets and Morality, vol. 20, Number 2 (Fall 2017), pp. 383-412. JMM website and JMM website.

• my online version "Frédéric Passy and ‘The School of Liberty’ (April, 1890)" (Dec. 2017) Online.

On Bastiat in particular

David M. Hart, "A Reader's Guide to the Works of Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850)" (Jan. 2018) OLL.

David M. Hart, “Bastiat on the Seen and The Unseen: An Intellectual History” (June, 2022) Online.

David M. Hart, “Bastiat's Theory of Harmony and Disharmony: An Intellectual History” (December, 2023). online.

David M. Hart, “Negative Railways, Turtle Soup, talking Pencils, and House owning Dogs: ‘The French Connection’ and the Popularization of Economics from Say to Jasay" (Sept. 2014; June 2024) Online.

• a paper originally written for a Symposium on Tony de Jasay following his death in 2014. A shorter version was published as: David M. Hart, "Broken Windows and House-Owning Dogs: The French Connection and the Popularization of Economics from Bastiat to Jasay," Symposium on Anthony de Jasay, The Independent Review (Summer 2015), vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 61-84. IR Website.

David M. Hart, “On Ricochets, Hidden Channels, and Negative Multipliers: Bastiat on calculating the Economic Costs of ‘The Unseen’ ” (June, 2024). Online.

David M. Hart, “Reassessing Frédéric Bastiat as an Economic Theorist”. A paper presented to the Free Market Institute, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (October, 2015). Online.

David M. Hart, et al. Liberty Matters online discussion at the OLL website:

• Robert Leroux, “Bastiat and Political Economy” Liberty Matters (July 1, 2013), with response essays by Donald J. Boudreaux, Michael C. Munger, and David M. Hart. OLL.
• David M. Hart, "Reassessing Bastiat's Economic Harmonies after 160 Years" Liberty Matters (May 2019), with response essays by Donald J. Boudreaux, Jörg Guido Hülsmann, and Joseph T. Salerno. OLL.

David M. Hart, “Frédéric Bastiat's Economic Harmonies: A Reassessment after 170 Years” (Dec., 2019). Online.

David M. Hart, "Frédéric Bastiat’s Distinction between Legal and Illegal Plunder". A Paper given at the Molinari Society Session “Explorations in Philosophical Anarchy” at the Pacific Meeting of the American Philosophical Society, Seattle WA (April, 2012). Online.

David M. Hart, "The Liberal Roots of American Conservatism: Bastiat and the French Connection". A paper given to the Philadelphia Society meeting on “The Roots of American Conservatism - and its Future”. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March, 2015 ). Online.

David M. Hart, "Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Frédéric Bastiat" (July, 2024). Online.

David M. Hart, "Frédéric Bastiat on Plunder, Class, and the State" (Jan. 2024). Online. This essay was written to accompany an anthology of Bastiat's writings on plunder, class, and the state: Frédéric Bastiat, La Spoliation, la Classe, et l’État (Plunder, Class, and State): An Anthology of Texts (1845-1851). Edited and with an Introduction by David M. Hart (Sydney: The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). The anthology is in French Online.

Works by Bastiat

Works by Bastiat online

At my website (an overview):

• A List of the Collected Works of Bastiat
  • old version: "The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat in Chronological Order" Online
  • new version: "The Works of Frédéric Bastiat" - a sortable table with links to his works online. Online.
• "Bastiat's Collected Sophisms: Economic and Political" Online

The Collected Works:

• Oeuvres complètes de Frédéric Bastiat, mises en ordre, revues et annotées d’après les manuscrits de l’auteur. Ed. Prosper Paillottet and biographical essay by Roger de Fontenay. (Paris: Guillaumin, 1st ed. 1854-55, 6 vols; 2nd ed. 1862-64, 7 vols).
  • Tome Premier, Correspondance, Mélanges (1862) PDF; online
  • Tome Deuxième. Le Libre-Échange (1862) PDF; Online
  • Tome troisième. Cobden et la Ligue ou L'agitation anglaise pour la Liberté des Échange (1864) PDF; Bastiat's Introduction only Online
  • Tome Quatrième. Sophismes Économiques, Petits Pamphlets (1863) PDF; Online
  • Tome Cinquième. Sophismes Économiques Petits Pamphlets II (1854) Facs.; Online
  • *Tome sixième. Harmonies économiques (1864) PDF. For the HTML version, see the 1851 edition Online.
  • Tome Septième. Essais - Ébauches - Correspondance (1864) PDF; Online.

French editions of his major published works:

• Frédéric Bastiat, Cobden et la ligue, ou l’Agitation anglaise pour la liberté du commerce (Paris: Guillaumin, 1845). Whole book in PDF; “Introduction,” pp. i-xcvi. Online.
• Frédéric Bastiat, Sophismes économiques (Paris: Guillaumin, 1846). Published Dec. 1845 or Jan. 1846. PDF; Online; my 2 vols. in 1 version (1846 and 1848 ed). Online; CW3 ES1, pp. 3-110.
• Frédéric Bastiat, Sophismes économiques. Deuxième série. (Paris: Guillaumin, 1848). Published Jan. 1848. PDF; Online; my 2 vols. in 1 version (1846 and 1848 ed). Online; CW3 ES2, pp. 113-253.
• Frédéric Bastiat, La Loi. Par M. F. Bastiat. Membre correspondent de l'Institut. représentant du peuple a l'assemblée nationale. (Paris: Librairie de Guillaumin et Cie, 1850). PDF; Online.
• Frédéric Bastiat, Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas, ou l’Économie politique en une leçon. Par M. F. Bastiat. Représentant du Peuple à l’Assemblée Nationale, Membre correspondant de l’Institut (Paris: Guillaumin, 1850). PDF; Online.
• Frédéric Bastiat, Harmonies économiques. 2me Édition. Augmentée des manuscrits laissés par l’auteur. Publiée par la Société des amis de Bastiat. (Paris: Guillaumin, 1851). PDF; Online. The first edition appeared in 1850 and contained the first 10 chapters. PDF.

Liberty Fund's Edition of his Books

Liberty Fund's edition of Bastiat's The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat, Jacques de Guenin, General Editor; Dennis O’Keeffe, Translation Editor; David M. Hart, Academic Editor, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2011-).

• Vol. 1: The Man and the Statesman: The Correspondence and Articles on Politics (2011) OLL.
• Vol. 2: The Law, The State, and Other Political Writings, 1843-1850 (2012) OLL
• Vol. 3: Economic Sophisms and What is Seen and What is Not Seen (2017) OLL

The editions by FEE:

• Bastiat, The Law, trans. Dean Russell (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Foundation for Economic Education, 1950). OLL
• Economic Sophisms (First and Second Series), trans from the French and Edited by Arthur Goddard (Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1968) (1st edition D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1964. Copyright William Volker Fund). OLL
• Selected Essays on Political Economy, translated from the French by Seymour Cain. Edited by George B. de Huszar (Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1968) (1st edition D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1964. Copyright William Volker Fund). OLL.
  • “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen” in Selected Essays on Political Economy (above). OLL.
• Economic Harmonies, translated from the French by W. Hayden Boyers. Edited by George B. de Huszar (Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1964) (1st edition D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1964. Copyright William Volker Fund). OLL.

Bastiat's journals and magazines:

• Le Libre-échange: Journal du travail agricole, industriel et commercial. The weekly journal of the Association pour la liberté des échanges. It began on 29 November 1846 as Le Libre-échange: Journal du travail agricole, industriel et commercial but changed its name to the simpler Libre échange at the start of its second year of publication. It closed on 16 April 1848 as a result of the revolution. See also a compilation of the first 2 year’s issues Le Libre-échange, journal de l’association pour la liberté des échanges (Paris: Guillaumin, 1847). PDFs via this link page
• La République française. Daily journal. Signed: the editors: F. Bastiat, Hippolyte Castille, Molinari. Appeared 26 February to 28 March. 30 issues. PDFs via this link opage.
• Jacques Bonhomme. Editor J. Lobet. Founded by Bastiat with Gustave de Molinari, Charles Coquelin, Alcide Fonteyraud, and Joseph Garnier. It appeared approximately weekly with 4 issues between 11 June to 13 July; with a break between 24 June and 9 July. See the complete set as images Online; and transcription of the French text: no. 1 Online; no. 2 Online; no. 3 Online; no. 4 Online.
  • New edition: Jacques Bonhomme. L'éphémère journal de Frédéric Bastiat and Gustave de Molinari (11 juin - 13 juillet 1848). Receuil de tous les articles, augmenté d'une introduction, par Benoît Malbranque (Paris: Institut Coppet, octobre 2014).

Other Primary Sources

François Andrieux, Contes et opuscules en vers et en prose (Paris: Renouard, 1800).

François Andrieux, Œuvres de François-Guillaume-Jean-Stanislas Andrieux, (Paris: Chez Nepveu, Librairie, 1818).

Pierre-Jean de Béranger, Béranger’s Songs of the Empire, the Peace, and the Restoration, trans. Robert B. Brough (London: Addey and Co., 1854).

Pierre-Jean de Béranger, Chansons nouvelles et dernière de P.J. de Béranger, dédiées à M. Lucien Bonaparte (Paris: Perrotin, 1833).

Étienne Cabet, Voyage et aventures de lord William Carisdall en Icarie (Paris: H. Souverain, 1840).

Benjamin Constant, “The Liberty of the Ancients and the Moderns” (1819) in Leroux and Hart, pp. 68–82.

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