Political economy and liberalism in France : the contributions of Frédéric Bastiat

Political Economy and Liberalism in France The contributions of Frédéric Bastiat......Page 12 Copyright......Page 13 Contents......Page 16 Foreword......Page 18 Introduction......Page 22 1 The context of a life’s work......Page 31 The broad lines of Bastiat’s work and thought......Page 32 A unique style......Page 41 Bastiat: scientist or pamphleteer?......Page 45 2 Bastiat through his correspondence......Page 52 Proclaiming a doctrine......Page 54 Dialogue with Cobden......Page 60 3 Bastiat and England......Page 65 Cross-channel perspectives......Page 66 Bastiat on Malthus......Page 72 Bastiat on Smith......Page 75 4 Salvation through science......Page 79 The scientific nature of political economy......Page 81 The science of “Jacques Bonhomme” ......Page 86 The question of mechanization......Page 89 The rational voter......Page 91 5 History and progress......Page 96 Is there meaning to history?......Page 97 Why do we have revolutions?......Page 99 The critique of antiquity......Page 102 The nature of individualism......Page 107 6 Issues and debates......Page 111 The question of free trade......Page 112 The power of the press......Page 117 The poverty of socialism......Page 120 Bastiat versus Proudhon......Page 125 7 Freedom and its foes......Page 129 The cult of the State......Page 130 The law, or legalized plunder......Page 137 8 Social and economic harmonies......Page 141 Optimism and harmony......Page 142 Labour, exchange, solidarity......Page 146 Competition as the foundation of liberty......Page 150 Conclusion: Bastiat’s intellectual legacy......Page 153 Notes......Page 160 Bibliography......Page 182 Author index......Page 197 Subject index......Page 201 The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the work of Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850), one of the towering intellectual figures of nineteenth century France. More than anyone else of his time, Bastiat personified the struggle of liberalism and science against socialism and utopia. Between 1844 in 1850, his campaign for the idea of liberty and his commitment to the discipline of political economy made him one of the most vigorous champions of economic liberalism in France. Bastiat put forth one of the most ambitious interpretations of the liberalism of his time, one that entailed both a critique of primitive socialism and a concern to provide political economy with a theoretical foundation. His thinking is far more sophisticated than would appear at first glance. Nor can it be confined, as so many commentators would have us believe, to its strictly economic dimension. The themes that Bastiat addressed – free trade, competition, labour, among others – certainly helped to reduce it to this dimension. Yet he did not limit himself to these issues, even if he dealt with them at length. He also paid close attention to the political, moral, social and religious dimensions. Coming, as Bastiat's writing did, at a decisive moment in the history of French liberalism, the very existence of his work explodes the long-standing received idea to the effect that liberalism, and in particular economic liberalism, is the exclusive domain of Anglo-Saxon countries. Bastiat's work thus offers a solid rebuttal to Hayek, who proclaimed'the total absence of a liberal tradition in France.'This book should be of interest to students and researchers of many strands of economics, as well as those looking at French liberalism and the history of social science more generally. The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the work of Frdric Bastiat (1801-1850), one of the towering intellectual figures of nineteenth century France. More than anyone else of his time, Bastiat personified the struggle of liberalism and science against socialism and utopia. Between 1844 in 1850, his campaign for the idea of liberty and his commitment to the discipline of political economy made him one of the most vigorous champions of economic liberalism in France. Bastiat put forth one of the most ambitious interpretations of the liberalism of his time, one that entailed both a critique of primitive socialism and a concern to provide political economy with a theoretical foundation. His thinking is far more sophisticated than would appear at first glance. Nor can it be confined, as so many commentators would have us believe, to its strictly economic dimension. The themes that Bastiat addressed free trade, competition, labour, among others certainly helped to reduce it to this dimension. Yet he did not limit himself to these issues, even if he dealt with them at length. He also paid close attention to the political, moral, social and religious dimensions. Coming, as Bastiats writing did, at a decisive moment in the history of French liberalism, the very existence of his work explodes the long-standing received idea to the effect that liberalism, and in particular economic liberalism, is the exclusive domain of Anglo-Saxon countries. Bastiats work thus offers a solid rebuttal to Hayek, who proclaimed "the total absence of a liberal tradition in France." This book should be of interest to students and researchers of many strands of economics, as well as those looking at French liberalism and the history of social science more generally.