Nick De Los Santos
CWID: A20317844
Professor Trost
EEE- 2083-30940
February 6, 2023
Module 02 Essay
Frederic Bastiat was a French economist, political philosopher, and writer of the 19th century; he was very known for much of his work; however, the three readings we looked over stand to be some of his most infamous writings. Those writings being "Government," "The Law," and "The Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles, Waxlights, Lamps, Candleights, Street Lamps, Snuffers, Extinguishers, and the Producers of Oil, Tallow, Resin, Alcohol, and, Generally, of Everything Connected with Lighting." These writings, in particular, overview Frederic Bastiat's view on how the government, society, and economy all tie in together and work.
First, I would like to review the wording from "The Law," which speaks about multiple ideas and things that man had before the Law was even a thing, to begin with. Frederic Bastiat states, "It is not because men have made laws that personality, liberty, and property exist. On the contrary, because personality, liberty, and property existed beforehand, men make laws. What, then, is Law? As I have said elsewhere, it is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense" (Bastiat, pg. 50). I feel that Frederic Bastiat is trying to get the point across that we, as men, have had certain rights. Liberties and properties long before these rules and orders are now in place. We have always had the righteousness of God before anything else that has been put in our life. With that, Bastiat believes that The Law should protect our possessions and do everything we can to prevent things such as Tyranny and oppression from our lives. It is also with great understanding that Frederic Bastiat wants the Law to be based on equality and justice to protect people from the danger of some sort. These ideals are what Frederic Bastiat believes to better society and the Law within itself.
As for "Government," It profoundly signifies the roles and functions of the government and how it works. Frederic Bastiat believes that the government's primary concern should be about its citizens and the rights they are empowered. The idea of the government controlling or worrying about the economy and or citizens' lives should not be determined by the government, according to Frederic Bastiat. He later states that when the government intervenes or develops specific policies, it does more harm than good to society. I don't know how to feel about some of these accusations. However, what do I know? What if the government focused a little more on other things? Would the world spin round and round with fewer problems? That is the point that Frederic Bastiat is trying to get at in this writing section, and I do not find it absurd. Now that things of this nature have been done or changed in our lives, I cannot give you a firm answer. That is why we study and review these things to know that the problems we may have now as a society has been the same or similar before us.
"The Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles, Waxlights, Lamps, Candlelights, Street Lamps, Snuffers, Extinguishers, and the Producers of Oil, Tallow, Resin, Alcohol, and, Generally, of Everything Connected with Lighting" is a petition asking for help from the French government to protect them from newly invented gas lighting. "We are suffering from the intolerable competition of a foreign rival, placed, and it would seem, in a condition so far superior to ours for the production of light that he inundated our national market with it at a price fabulously reduced" ( Bastiat, pg. 228). The petition was so eagerly made in the hope of prospering in the way of artificial lighting, all by restricting the flow of natural lighting. They wanted to be heard and not denied without evaluation of their proposition. Without this evaluation and approval, it opens up the market and allows convenience and, ultimately, a better alternative. Obviously, this would leave the candle makers out of the market, which they did not want. Frederic Bastiat believed in a free market system that prevented things like this from happening. Frederic Bastiat wanted the French government to oppose all import taxes and not limit the market, which would affect certain things, such as international trade, alongside competitors. However, the petition was not enough to sway the French government from their actions. It is essential to know that protectionism is used globally by various governments in the market. These three essays give a clear overview of what Frederic Bastiat believed in and his thoughts on the Law, government, and economy. Frederic Bastiat's thoughts are still reviewed and influential in today's world as we deal with similar things in society today. The idea of a government caring more for the people and protecting individual rights will always get brought up and fought to improve it.
Citation
Kanopi Admin. (2014, August 18). The bastiat collection: Claude Frédéric Bastiat. Mises Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2023, from https://mises.org/library/bastiat-collection
Hi Nick, I enjoyed reading your essay over Bastiat's writings! I think that although you summarize some of Bastiat's points well, you don't give very much insight into your opinion on his findings. For example, when you wrote about what Bastiat found to be true about candle makers, I would have loved to hear what you thought about his findings and rather or not you agreed with them. I did enjoy reading the part where you talked about Bastiat's piece titled "Government", and your said:
I think that this brings up a whole argument that Bastiat danced around in his writings. The idea of learning from the mistakes of the people that came before us. Although government puts rules into place that are allegedly relevant and necessary at the time, we can see from our own country's past that some laws that are put into place do not work out the way we want them to. We can hope, as members of society, that our leaders will take these failures and learn from them, working their hardest never to repeat the same mistake, but we have also seen this to not be true in the past.
Personally, this makes me wonder why the law making system has not been looked at and / or changed over the course of our country's history.
Nick, I think you did a good job at covering well and equally the three different writings by Bastiat that we were assigned. I enjoyed the way you summarized his opinions in a way that was not partial. However, I would have loved to hear more about your personal opinion, especially regarding 'The Law' and 'The Petition'. You did a great job as far as spelling and grammar. Also the way you organized the essay, separating it by each article, was very easy to follow. One other thing that I would suggest you work on is the formatting of your essay. The formatting on Hive is difficult to figure out, but the video on canvas that Dr. Trost uploaded is very helpful, so definitely check it out!
The peer review provides a comprehensive overview of Frederic Bastiat's three most famous writings, including "The Law," "Government," and "The Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles, Waxlights, Lamps, Candlelight’s, Street Lamps, Snuffers, Extinguishers, and the Producers of Oil, Tallow, Resin, Alcohol, and, Generally, of Everything Connected with Lighting." Nick, you do a good job in summarizing the main points of each writing and explaining how they relate to Bastiat's views on the government, society, and economy.
One aspect that could be improved is the depth of analysis in some areas. For example, in the section on "The Law," you briefly mentioned Bastiat's views on liberty and property but could go into more detail about how he defines these concepts and how they relate to the role of law in society. Additionally, while you mentioned Bastiat's opposition to protectionism in the section on the "Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles," a deeper analysis of his views on free trade and how they relate to the larger economic principles he supports could add more depth to the review. One thing I wish is that I could have seen more of your opinion, I didn’t learn what you did which is typically the juicy stuff. If you had more of a concrete stance on government and how it’s conducted I’d be able to learn more about how well Bastiat can write and introduce thought-producing thoughts.
“I don't know how to feel about some of these accusations. However, what do I know? What if the government focused a little more on other things? Would the world spin round and round with fewer problems?”It’s here that you could have included their own perspective on the issue, as well as an explanation of how you reached your conclusion.
Overall, the essay provides a good starting point for understanding Bastiat's writings and his views on the government, society, and economy. Nick made sure to highlight Bastiat's argument that the government's primary concern should be its citizens and their rights, and that government intervention can do more harm than good. However, to deepen the understanding, further analysis and exploration of specific concepts and themes in Bastiat's writings could be added.
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