Bastiat is one of economics great early thinkers, though sadly much less known than his contemporary Karl Marx Diametrically opposed to Marx thinking, Bastiat was responsible for the concept of opportunity cost though he didn t call it that and used the concept to argue strongly for the smallest possible role for government Taxation, he argued, shifted money from citizens and the productive private sector to the less efficient public sector and therefore had a detrimental effect on a nation s w [...]

Excellent writing It is incredibly hard for me to believe that with writings this convincing being around since the early 1800 s, we can still have a world full of protectionists and socialists today Are they that ignorant, or just evil

I wound up torn on this book The first half or so, the part that actually consisted of Bastiat s writing, was engaging and fun to read, if a little awkwardly translated at parts I felt that he relied a little too strongly on straw men and reductio ad absurdum, but I ll take the foreword s advice and chalk it up to historical difference Overall, it was a fun read for someone who tends to disagree the libertarian position often than not The second half or so, however, I found drearily dull, as it [...]

It is popularly said, We re all Keyensians now The world has bought into the idea that the economy is fueled by spending rather than by saving In a time when savings has fallen by the wayside, Bastiat s economic arguments in favor of thrift are needed than ever This volume provides a useful explanation of how thrift grows the economy in the long run It also describes how protectionism harms the economy Concrete analogies are used, and Bastiat emphasizes the importance of what is unseen Most pro [...]

I cannot recommend this collection of essays highly enough For over 160 years now a battle of ideas and sometimes, than ideas has been raging between competing political, social, and economic philosophies While you have no doubt heard of the likes of Karl Marx, it s not as likely that you have heard of the likes of Fr d ric Bastiat Both were publishing their ideas at roughly the same time, but their views were light years apart First, if you haven t done so already, read The Communist Manifesto [...]

It boggles the mind that the so called intelligent economists of our time could be so un intelligent in their decision making, giving government and powers to intervene in a so called free market system Refreshing and simple arguments debunking complicated economic problems.

Good read Bastiat challenges and shows the effect economic theories have beyond the immediate.

GBD_140218

A selection of articles that show how well hidden some of the modern fallacies are and we ve grown up to believe them so much that we don t even question them

Inspired