Project Gutenberg 2014-01-30 Public domain in the USA. 660 Bastiat, Frédéric 1801 1850 Bastiat, Frederic Bastiat, Claude Frédéric La loi. English The Law Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Law_(Bastiat_book) Produced by David Widger from page scans generously provided by the Google Books Project, with a Creative Commons license granted by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, Alabama "The Law" by Frédéric Bastiat is a political essay written in the mid-19th century. The work serves as a staunch defense of individual rights and the negative role of government in societal matters. Bastiat articulates the philosophy that the true purpose of law should be to protect the life, liberty, and property of individuals rather than to serve as an instrument for plundering one class for the benefit of another, a concept he describes as "legal plunder." The opening of "The Law" introduces the central argument that law, when properly functioning, is an organization of natural rights meant to defend against injustice, not to administer wealth or dictate behavior. Bastiat expresses alarm about how the law has been perverted to become a tool of avarice and exploitation instead of a protector of the rights of individuals. He emphasizes that both greed and misguided philanthropy have corrupted the legal system, leading to a societal structure where individuals or groups seek to exploit the law for personal gain. This foundational idea sets the stage for the profound exploration of justice, property, and the dangers of government interference in personal liberties that Bastiat develops throughout the essay. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 56.3 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Property Law -- Philosophy Justice, Administration of Law and socialism Socialism and liberty K Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: French Literature Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Politics 175494 2025-07-18T07:41:54.452956 text/html 147434 2024-10-24T01:37:15 text/html 583257 2025-07-18T07:41:57.660945 application/epub+zip 584074 2025-07-18T07:41:55.118967 application/epub+zip 117042 2025-07-18T07:41:54.768982 application/epub+zip 651295 2025-07-18T07:41:59.596939 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 642118 2025-07-18T07:41:57.326947 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 175807 2022-09-20T12:52:46.584074 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 135762 2025-07-18T07:41:53.997998 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 115980 2024-10-24T01:37:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19105 2025-07-18T07:41:59.733911 application/rdf+xml 29061 2025-07-18T07:41:54.862933 image/jpeg 4477 2025-07-18T07:41:54.815939 image/jpeg 563998 2025-07-18T07:41:54.481974 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia fr.wikipedia