Publisher's Synopsis
This book contains the timeless truths that were understood by the Founders of the United States, but forgotten by those of us who are more concerned with our day-to-day lives. Everyone wants to be personally prosperous. Most everyone would agree that it is easier to be prosperous when living in a society that is prosperous. This book makes it clear what prosperity is, what dynamics improve economies while reducing unemployment, and why the United States is the most prosperous nation that has ever existed. Fredric Bastiat lived in the revolutionary period of mid-nineteenth century France, and developed his Theory of Freedom at the same time as Karl Marx developed his Theory of Communism. Where Karl Marx found the dynamics of history to be a class-oriented struggle for wealth, Frederic Bastiat looked to the United States and found the harmonious dynamics of individual liberty. It is liberty that provides the wealth everyone desires. Frederic Bastiat is unknown to most everyone in America, yet his ideas are often used in conversation and discussion. If you ever hear someone say that no wealth is created when government pays someone to dig a hole and then fill it, or that breaking windows does not help the economy, it is an idea from the work of Bastiat. If you ever hear someone refer to obstacles to economic activity, government policies as plunder, mention a negative railroad, or talk about unintended consequences or what is seen and unseen; these are all ideas presented by Bastiat. This work makes these ideas easily accessible to the modern American reader. This book is a derivation of two works by Frederic Bastiat, The Law and Harmonies of Political Economy. It presents the simple idea that there is a natural law of economics that, when followed, provides prosperity to both individuals and all of society. The fundamental premise is that all persons are equal with respect to the law. This work provides the reasoning behind the assertion in the Declaration of Independence that all persons have Natural Rights, and how to obtain the General Welfare, which is one of the purposes of our government as stated in the Preamble of the Constitution. It is a summary of the founding principles of the United States of America.
