What is Liberty?
The following was written by Frederic Bastiat, the French Economist and Philospher, in the middle 1850s. It is timeless, really. He speaks simple truths.
"Actually, what is the political struggle that we witness? It is the instinctive struggle of all people toward liberty. And what is this liberty, whose very name makes the heart beat faster and shakes the world? Is it not the union of all liberties — liberty of conscience, of education, of association, of the press, of travel, of labor, of trade? In short, is not liberty the freedom of every person to make full use of his faculties, so long as he does not harm other persons while doing so? Is not liberty the destruction of all despotism — including, of course, legal despotism? Finally, is not liberty the restricting of the law only to its rational sphere of organizing the right of the individual to lawful self-defense; of punishing injustice?"
If you have never read any of Bastiat's Essays, I urge you to do so. He is clear, concise and on the mark. His relevance to today is remarkable. Bastiat was one of the first Libertarian Philosophers and Free-Market economists. He was pretty much ignored in his day, as the Austrian Economists and Libertarians are today, but his message, his philosophy and economics, rings true to freedom loving folks everywhere.
The following was written by Frederic Bastiat, the French Economist and Philospher, in the middle 1850s. It is timeless, really. He speaks simple truths.
"Actually, what is the political struggle that we witness? It is the instinctive struggle of all people toward liberty. And what is this liberty, whose very name makes the heart beat faster and shakes the world? Is it not the union of all liberties — liberty of conscience, of education, of association, of the press, of travel, of labor, of trade? In short, is not liberty the freedom of every person to make full use of his faculties, so long as he does not harm other persons while doing so? Is not liberty the destruction of all despotism — including, of course, legal despotism? Finally, is not liberty the restricting of the law only to its rational sphere of organizing the right of the individual to lawful self-defense; of punishing injustice?"
If you have never read any of Bastiat's Essays, I urge you to do so. He is clear, concise and on the mark. His relevance to today is remarkable. Bastiat was one of the first Libertarian Philosophers and Free-Market economists. He was pretty much ignored in his day, as the Austrian Economists and Libertarians are today, but his message, his philosophy and economics, rings true to freedom loving folks everywhere.
RSS Feed