Frédéric Bastiat

Nor is this all. While A is always selling, and B is always buying, money passes from B to A. It becomes abundant in A, and scarce in B.

But abundance of money means that we must have plenty of it to buy everything else. Then in A, to the _real dearness_ which arises from a very active…

Scarcity of money means that little is required for each purchase. Then in B a _nominal cheapness_ comes to be combined with _real cheapness_.

In these circumstances, industry will have all sorts of motives--motives, if I may say so, carried to the highest degree of intensity--to desert A…

Or, to come nearer what would actually take place under such circumstances, we may affirm that sudden displacements being so repugnant to the…

And when I assert that if it were possible for industry to concentrate itself upon one point, that very circumstance would set in motion an…

"Formerly we exported stuffs; then that exportation gave place to that of yams, which are the raw material of stuffs; then to that of machines, which…

You see very clearly, then, that nature, or rather that Providence, more wise, more far-seeing than your narrow and rigid theory supposes, has not…

To illustrate what I mean by an example: I suppose some Parisian speculators to devote themselves to the production of oranges. They know that the…

Now, I maintain that the _conditions of production_ are in nowise changed. The law has made no change on the heat of the sun of Lisbon, or on the…

Now, really, it will be said, this is too much; you must be making game of us. Well, then, were it only for curiosity, I entreat the gentlemen…

Let us suppose for a moment that the average daily wage which a Frenchman earns is equal to a shilling, and it follows incontestably that to…

I add, that liberty equalizes also the conditions of enjoyment, of satisfaction, of consumption, with which the protectionists never concern…

V. Gentlemen protectionists, you find me in a paradoxical humour; and I am disposed to go further still. I say, and I sincerely think, that if two…

Consumption is the _end_ and final cause of all the economic phenomena, and it is in consumption consequently that we must expect to find their…

Nothing, whether favourable or unfavourable, can abide permanently with the producer. The advantages which nature and society bestow upon him, the…

In the same way, when a workman succeeds in discovering an improved process in manufactures, the _immediate_ profit from the improvement results to…

But I maintain that these good or bad effects, though in their own nature permanent, are not permanent as regards the producer. If it had been so,…

Let us go back to the thirteenth century. The men who then devoted themselves to the art of copying received for the service which they rendered _a…

In the first instance, one man was enriched, and many others were impoverished. At first sight, marvellous as the invention proves itself to be, we…

But the intelligence which has introduced harmony into the movements of the heavenly bodies, has implanted it also in the internal mechanism of…

At length the invention comes to be known. Guttemberg is no longer the only printer; others imitate him. Their profits' at first are large. They…

The new branch of industry at length reaches its normal state; in other words, the remuneration of printers ceases to be exceptionally high, and…

_To each according to his capacity; to each capacity according to its works_. I see in them, communism; that is, the tendency of products to become…

* It is true that labour does not receive a uniform remuneration. It may be more or less intense, dangerous, skilled, etc. Competition settles the…

In every branch of production, nature and man concur. But the portion of utility which nature contributes is always gratuitous. It is only the…

We do not pay for the air we breathe, although it is so _useful_ to us, that, without it, we could not live two minutes. We do not pay for it,…

Were the porter who carries water to my house to be paid in proportion to the _absolute utility_ of water, my whole fortune would be insufficient…

The alimentary substance contained in potatoes is not very costly, because we can obtain a large amount of it with comparatively little labour. We…

Tropical regions are very favourably situated for the production of sugar and of coffee. This means that nature does a great part of the work, and…

Suppose a temperate region where coal and iron-ore are found on the surface of the ground, where one has only to stoop down to get them. That, in the…

Thus the liberality of nature, like improvements in the processes of production, is, or continually tends to become, under the law of competition,…

Hence we see the enormous absurdity of consuming countries which reject products for the very reason that they are cheap. It is as if they said,…

* The theory sketched in this chapter, is the same which, four years afterwards, was developed in the _Harmonies Économiques_. Remuneration…

We have here again the same sophism. We demand that foreign products should be taxed to neutralize the effect of the taxes which weigh upon our…

I have said more than once that I propose only to explain the theory, and lay open, as far as possible, the sources of protectionist errors. Had I…

A protective duty is a tax directed against a foreign product; but we must never forget that it falls back on the home consumer. Now the consumer…

It appears evident to me that the nature and effects of protection would not be changed, were the State to levy a direct tax and distribute the money…

The first mode is to lay a duty of five francs on foreign iron. It is evident that that duty would exclude it, since it could no longer be sold under…

Or again, the State might levy a tax of five francs from the public, and give the proceeds as a premium to the ironmaster. The protective effect…

Between these two modes of going to work, I can see only one difference. The principle is the same; the effect is the same; but in the one, certain…

But if the protectionist system had taken this form, it would have been laughable to hear men say, "We pay heavy taxes for the army, for the navy,…

You are thus the dupes of an illusion. You wish in the first instance to pay taxes in order that you may have an army, a navy, a church, a university…

But I go further, and maintain that the heavier our taxes are, the more we should hasten to throw open our ports and our frontiers to foreigners less…

In fine, have you never asked yourselves whether these heavy burdens on which you found your argument for a prohibitory régime are not caused by that…

Our adversaries have adopted tactics which are rather embarrassing. Do we establish our doctrine? They admit it with the greatest possible respect.…

"Assuredly," said M. Gauthier de Rumilly, on a recent occasion, "no one wishes to resuscitate the antiquated theories of the balance of trade."…

Well, here is a man with whom we can come to an understanding. There is no hypocrisy in this language. The doctrine of the balance of trade is openly…

It is with M. Lestiboudois, then, that we must deal, for how can we argue with M. Gauthier? If you tell him that the balance of trade is an error, he…

The economist school will blame me, no doubt, for arguing with M. Lestiboudois. To attack the balance of trade, it will be said, is to fight with a…

But take care. The doctrine of the balance of trade is neither so antiquated, nor so sick, nor so dead as M. Gauthier would represent it, for the…

We are constantly told that our principles do not hold good, except in theory. But tell me, gentlemen, if you regard the books of merchants as…

M. T. despatched a ship from Havre to the United States, with a cargo of French goods, chiefly those known as _articles de Paris_, amounting to…

If M. Lestiboudois desires it, I shall send him an extract from the books of M. T. He will there see _at the credit_ of the _profit and loss_ account…

And yet, what do the Customhouse books tell M. Lestiboudois regarding this transaction? They tell him simply that France exported 200,000 francs'…

"_Profit and loss debtors to sundry goods_, 200,000 francs, in consequence of _definitive and total loss_ of the cargo."

At the same time, the Customhouse books bore an entry of 200.000 francs in the list of _exportations_; and as there was no corresponding entry to…

There is still another inference to be deduced from this, which is, that according to the theory of the balance of trade, France has a very simple…

The truth is, it would be necessary to take the balance of trade _backwards [au rebours]_, and calculate the national profits from foreign trade by…

Gentlemen,--You are on the right road. You reject abstract theories, and have little consideration for cheapness and plenty Your chief care is the…