First off, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this essay as the components and content transitions together smoothly and the points in this essay were made clear, at least to me. I first noticed the flow of each section quite easily and in each section it bounced off one another in terms of how "petition" related to the government and then to the law. We can see this by starting to look at the "petition" portion of the essay and how we can see the French being opposed on the taxation of imports when an alternative already exists. We then relate this to the author, @brieb's, next section of the essay in which involves the government and exactly, according to Bastiat, his perception on what the Government exactly is and how it relates to the "petition" essay.
We often wonder where all our money goes to from taxes because we do not always see the benefits. Sometimes the things we wish to see changed gets overlooked for something minor, leading us to believe that Government does not listen to us the way we think they should as our leaders. The role of government is a controversial topic that has no clear meaning that can bring satisfaction to everyone. (Module 2 Essay, para.4)
I agree with @brieb in this assessment as the Government is not always reliable and at times can be suspicious in terms of how they tend to tax and how unclear the role of the government really is. I mean, do we really know what exactly goes on behind doors and how they "help" us, "protect" us, "benefit" us?
We then end with the author's section about the law and can clearly see the transition from the government portion of the essay shifting to ideas mentioned in the section called, "The Law." What is law? What does it take to implement a law and who decides this? So many questions to answer, yet a great takeaway from this essay was explained well by @brieb in terms of showing me, as the reader, the effect laws can have, the disadvantages they sometimes represent to who and what, and overall how the government really works.
Because of this, some laws are created at the disadvantage at others so one specific group of people can benefit. The group that has the disadvantage in most cases of laws is the lower class that does not have the money and resources to defend themselves against injustice, such as taxation. The lower class is not the only group that is affected, but the basis of sex, age, and race can also play a role in the inequalities of certain laws.(Module 2 Essay, para.7)
I agree with @brieb assessment, as the laws are supposed to be put into place to benefit the people and ensure that we live in a safe environment. But as we can see from the author's opinion, many factors can come into play at a disadvantage, including class, sex, age, and race, as @brieb mentioned.
This article is a great example of clarity in regards to how the author, @brieb,read the articles and how the transition and collaboration of each article worked well together to all come to one solid essay!