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In Bastiat’s writing about the government on pages 95 – 107, he discusses the common misconceptions about the role the government plays and its ability to fulfill contradictory promises. He explains how most people expect all these crazy benefits from the government, but they do not realize that each benefit from the government comes from their own expense. Bastiat discusses how the public is constantly desiring extensive benefits while simultaneously demanding reduced taxes, however this could never work. The government is funded primarily by the taxes of the people so without high taxes the government could not provide these benefits people wish for. This idea of low taxes with government benefits is unrealistic and truly can never happen and Bastiat talks about the reality of this and how people are constantly let down when they cannot have the best of both worlds. Toward the end of this section, Bastiat urges the reader to choose between the two political systems rather than try to bring this third system which is “childish” and “contradictory” to what the government can actually and how they work. I agree that this idea of a government that can provide for the people without taking much money in taxes from them is unrealistic and will never happen. People need to realize this so that they can move on from this foolish idea of the government because it will never end up being like that.
In the second reading of “The Law”, Bastiat discusses the reality of the government when it comes to law and law enforcement compared to his view of what it should be like. He thinks that the individual rights of humans such as life, liberty, and property precede legislation and are superior to it. Bastiat thinks that the law should protect individuals and their rights. He also believes that the government should serve the purpose of safeguarding these rights through common force. Overall, he believes the government should allow personal responsibility, limit intervention in private affairs, and maintain justice while stopping the abuse of legal power for personal gain. I think that there are some very good points Bastiat is making in this argument of what the law should be like, however I do not agree with some of them. I do agree that the government should respect the individual rights of the people, however his idea of legal plunder has its ups and downs. There is a fine line between whether it is right for someone to be legally plundered. I think that in the case of taxes it makes sense for the government to tax people so that there can be things such as free public education. In the case of an individual being legally plundered and getting his money taken and given to the lower class, it is wrong. If that person worked hard for their money, they deserve it and should not get it taken away from them.
Continuing in “The Law” Bastiat talks more about legalized plunder which occurs when the law violates property rights rather than protecting them. He emphasizes the need to identify and abolish laws that take from some individuals and give to others, as such legal plunder not only constitutes an evil but also becomes a source of further injustices. He then distinguishes between legal, universal legal, and no legal plunder and criticizes the lure of socialism arguing that it contradicts the concept of justice and leads to the violation of individual liberties and property. I completely agree that socialism contradicts individual liberties and property as discussed in last week’s class. It covers this issue of legal plunder because all people would be on the same playing field money-wise, which it may seem to do but that is because there would be no private property to take from.
Toward the end of the reading, Bastiat discusses The Candlemakers’ Petition. In this satirical piece by Bastiat, he talks about how candlemakers are at a disadvantage in their industry since they are competing with the sun. These candlemakers made a petition to block all openings that allow sunlight into houses to create a need for artificial lighting. They think this would increase production and prosperity in related industries including agriculture, shipping, and manufacturing. Bastiat explains the importance of free trade and the absurdity of protecting industries from natural competition. This is a very silly argument of the candlemakers, and I completely agree with Bastiat on this one. There is no reason that natural competition should be a problem and if it really is that much of a problem, find a new product!
Overall, Bastiat had some remarkably interesting points in his readings and some of which I agreed with and others I disagreed with. His idea of what the government and law could be is very well thought out and could be beneficial but like everything, will never be perfect or make everyone happy. Each different idea of government and law has its difficulties and we as a people have to make do with what we have and vote for what we believe in.