The Law

I recently finished an amazing 75 page booklet entitled, "The Law" by Fredrick Bastiat. I remember reading this as a youth and I even had a few comments  underlined. This time however, I almost couldn't stop underlining. Everything in it seemed to be relevant to today's world--even though it had originally been written in 1850. I want to write some of the notes that I took in the hope that it will shed light on some of the fallacies regarding the proper role of government and legislation. I take no credit for these ideas. Most of what I write here comes directly or indirectly from this book. These are just my notes which I have gathered to help me formulate and understand the ideas contained in the book.

Our law has been perverted. It has been converted from an instrument of "justice for all" to an instrument of "legalized plunder."

Our lives, liberty and property (natural resources) are gifts from God. These gifts preceded laws. Consequently, they are not created by the laws. In fact, because these things already existed, we sought to establish laws in defense of these gifts. The common force (laws) should only do what an individual has a natural right to do: that is protect persons, liberties, and property, and maintain the right of each. If the law acts in any way which uses force to destroy the rights of others, the law is in direct opposition to its own purpose. Justice has been destroyed.

The law has been perverted by two causes: Greed and False Philanthropy. The common tendency of mankind is to live and prosper at the expense of others. Men will plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. It stops whenever plunder becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor. The purpose of law is to stop plunder. The law should protect property and punish plunder. If however, the law is used as a means of plunder itself, the law is used to destroy independence and is only a benefit of the person who makes the law. The rest of the people either wish to stop lawful plunder or they wish to share in it. (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.) Bastiat says, in effect, "the conversion of law into an instrument of plunder is one of the greatest evils to a free society."

How do you know if a law is just or if it is simply legalized plunder?

Ask yourself, "Does the law take from some persons what belongs to them and give it to other person to whom it does not belong?"If law is used against liberty it is also used against justice, thereby acting against its purposes.

The second way the law has been perverted is by false philanthropy. The idea of providing general welfare by general plunder is ludicrous. The law cannot organize labor, education, or religion without destroying justice. The law should only be defensive--only stopping one from harming others--it never violates his personal liberty.

Nothing can enter the public treasury for the benefit of one citizen or class unless other citizens or classes have been forced to send it in. Forced organization is the problem, not natural organization. We are all able and even encouraged to organize and give of our surplus willingly. There is a fundamental difference between forced organization vs natural organizing, forced fraternity vs true fraternity and artificial unity vs the natural unity of mankind under providence. Many people, especially socialists, confuse the distinction between government and society thereby every time we object to a thing being done by government, the they conclude that we object to it being done at all. How did they ever get the idea that the law could be made to produce what it does not contain?

Liberty is the freedom of EVERY person to make full use of his faculties (granted to him by God), so long as he does not harm other persons while doing so. If the law were restricted to protecting ALL persons, liberty and all property then EVERONE'S interest in the law would be the same. If our nation were founded on that basis it would be the most just, economical, limited government imaginable. Everyone would know privileges, but also the responsibilities.