The Law

Amazing title, considered the best for me in the issues of liberty, an eye opener in the end for what it is.

One of the best books Ive ever read. Bastiat highlighted in 1849 the exact plights and issues of our time in regard to the collusion of special interests and government to the detriment of us all. Bastiat also in this short work defines man in the pursuit of life, liberty and property and makes the most succinct and effective arguments against socialism then and now. A life-changing book. If every American or human being on Earth were aware of the information in this book the world would be a much different place, a much better place. I cant recommend the book too much!

The most important idea I took from this book was the potential for a repeating cycle of intervention and coercion which follows the first attempt to improve a specific market. Once it begins, all parties it effects want their own improvements. At least on the surface you cant deny the truth of this in todays U.S. markets. Law does not create wealth, it may only redistribute...this is made very clear by the author. Consider this when thinking of price manipulations (tariffs, subsidies...etc.); who is really benefitting from this? Is it the consumer? This book is not a book on economics but a book on political inefficiencies and failures. Its a very quick read (likely just needs a few dedicated hours). I highly recommend it as an introduction to the logical way to think of politics and the role of government.

Prescient book for what happened to the U.S. At the time this book was written, the author considered the U.S. one of the most just nations, but he described perfectly what happens, and did happen, when you have an increase in the size of government, and the power of the legislators to legally plunder the citizens through the laws they enact.

One of the best books I ever read. Bastiat is a sheer genius! We have been swindled, our liberties have been chipped away and our freedom has been usurped by the government that in the name of justice robs the talented and just, creates a huge spread for itself and gives a few morsels here and there to the dumb, lazy and degenerate mob which by default is just as unjust as the government as it contributes to this very robbery by electing the government into the public office. And this entire enterprise is backboned on the pseudo-academia - the basket-weaving Ph.D.s of the basket-weaving universities who day after day crank out a study after as study to provide theoretical support for this mass injustice. On behalf of the American nation, I would like to thank everyone that participated in publishing this amazing book. P.S. I would also highly recommend the following books: 1. Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman 2. Freedom and Prosperity in the 21st Century by George Stasen and Zviad Kliment Lazarashvili 3. The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek 4. Liberalism by Ludwig von Mises 5. American Heroes by Zviad Kliment Lazarashvili

Bastiats perspective is relevant today and provides an in depth understanding of Law. He describes the difference between plunder and legal plunder, the later of which is destroying the foundation of America as solidified by our founding fathers in Constitution. To understand how the foundation is being eroding by legal plunder (none-the-less plunder) one must fully understand the impact of it. Bastiats The Law provides that understanding. Ive also downloaded the audio version and send it to friends regularly. To change what is going on in America we must understand what is really happening as our politicians make every effort to present everything as if it were a nice present wrapped up perfectly for out benefit...it is deceitful.

This book changed my view of the world, and my peers, and my expectations of life. A concept so simple and straight forward. Translated from early 1800s French, it can take a small adjustment to wording if you arent used to it. So amazingly far ahead of its time, you realize that none of the current political world is new. This has all been tried before...

If you have no idea what Libertarianism is and would like to understand, this would be a wonderful book for you. I got my mom to read it and she loved it. Its only around 70 pages, so its really short. But there is so much philosophy in here that it will blow your mind. If I could add any one book to the high school curriculum throughout the U.S., it would be this book. The title of the book is called The Law. The title gives away the whole message. Bastiat shares his views on what the function of law should be in any society. Here is the folly that we have committed in this modern day of legislation - Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our

This book is not quite as advertised. If youre thinking to yourself, I cant believe I havent heard of such an important book, youre not alone. This book is not about the law: its a political tract that advances the ideas of what we know now as libertarianism, and if it has any authority at all, that authority derives mainly from the fact that this book is so old. If youre expecting something like Henry Hazlitts book on Economics, this is not the book for you. As its introduction suggests, this book is about a political stance, a very far-right political stance, on the law. Its not an introduction or an authoritative document on anything but an ideology. And theres a typo in the one pull-quote on the back of the book. Yikes.

Frederick Bastiat was a French Farmer in the first half of the 19th century who watched his countrys government assume more and more power. That is what I thought made this book unique - In the first paragraph, he states his intent of the book to be an alert to his countrymen - which is probably why the book is so emotional as well as succinct. Bastiat manages to describe the purpose of law, from a religious standpoint, in the first 3-4 pages. The rest of the book is mostly specific details of how his description of the proper purpose of the law has been thwarted in France in 1850. Many of the same principals apply today. For three bucks and an hour of your time, this book is guaranteed to engage you and make you think. In my experience, its ability to persuade people is uncanny.