If ever there was a man perfectly blessed with the power of persuasion, Frédéric Bastiat would be a top contender. Though his life’s works focused on the economic problems facing his homeland in the first half of the nineteenth century, his legacy and unshakable belief in the protection of life, liberty, and property is felt today in countries far beyond France’s borders. As an American, one need only take one look at the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution to see Bastiat’s fingerprints all over it.
How did an orphan (move over, Alexander Hamilton!) go on to become one of France’s finest and most influential champions of liberty? And what does wine have to do with it? The girls discuss Bastiat’s life and what his powerful economic writings meant for France and the constant cycle of revolution and counterrevolution that dominated the country beginning with the French Revolution. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Frédéric Bastiat Fast Facts:
– Bastiat was a french economist, writer, and member of the Libral School of Economics.
– He was born on June 30, 1801 near Bayonne, France. He died on December 24, 1850 in Rome.
– His work is said to build upon that of Adam Smith. Both men championed the protection of liberty, property, and life, and believed in the power of free market economics and limited government to protect these rights.
– Bastiat was a proponent of free trade, having been inspired by the activities of Richard Cobden and the organization of the Anti-Corn Law League. This was a political movement in Great Britain to abolish unpopular Corn Laws.
– He founded the Associations for Free Trade and used its journal to advance free trade views.
– He wrote in parables to explain economic truths–two of the most famous ones are The Candlemakers vs. the Sun and the Parable of the Broken Window.
– He wrote against the rise of socialism during the revolutionary years of 1848-49.
– In his lifetime, he was elected to various political offices–county judge (1831), General Council of Landes (1833), and Legislative Assembly (1849).
– He was born into the Napoleonic War era and then lived through two monarchies later in his lifetime; he lived through the first two years of the Second French Republic (for which he served in the Legislative Assembly) before his death.
– Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, and Milton Friedman all cite Bastiat as having a major influence on their beliefs.
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