Among his better known works is Economic Sophisms,
which contains many strongly-worded attacks on statist policies. Bastiat wrote
it while living in England
to advise the shapers of the French
Republic on pitfalls to
avoid.
Contained within Economic Sophisms is the famous satirical parable
known as the "Candlemakers' petition" which presents itself as a
demand from the candlemakers' guild to the French government, asking the
government to block out the Sun to prevent its unfair competition with their
products. Much like Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal or Benjamin
Franklin's anti-slavery works, Bastiat's argument cleverly highlights basic
flaws in protectionism by demonstrating its absurdity through logical extremes.
Bastiat's most famous work, however, is undoubtedly The Law,
originally published as a pamphlet in 1850. It defines, through development, a
just system of laws and then demonstrates how such law facilitates a free
society.
The following titles were originally published by the Foundation for
Economic Education in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY.
Frederic Bastiat