Economic Sophisms

By Frédéric Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) was a French economist, statesman, and author. He was the leader of the free-trade movement in France from its inception in 1840 until his untimely death in 1850. The first 45 years of his life were spent in preparation for five tremendously productive years writing in favor of freedom. Bastiat was the founder of the weekly newspaper
Le Libre Échange, a contributor to numerous periodicals, and the author of sundry pamphlets and speeches dealing with the pressing issues of his day. Most of his writing was done in the years directly before and after the Revolution of 1848—a time when France was rapidly embracing socialism. As a deputy in the Legislative Assembly, Bastiat fought valiantly for the private property order, but unfortunately the majority of his colleagues chose to ignore him. Frédéric Bastiat remains one of the great champions of freedom whose writings retain their relevance as we continue to confront the old adversary.

Book Cover

Translator/Editor

Arthur Goddard, trans., trans.

First Pub. Date

1845

Publisher

Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc.

Pub. Date

1996

Comments

Introduction by Henry Hazlitt

Copyright

The text of this edition is under copyright

About the Author

Notes

to the Electronic Edition:

* Each footnote is marked in the text by a colored-coded superscript and in this footnote file according to its authorship as follows:

The author’s original notes, color-coded red in the text, are unbracketed and unlabeled below.
The French editor’s notes, color-coded purple in the text, are bracketed and labeled “EDITOR” below.
The translator’s notes, color-coded blue in the text, are bracketed and labeled “TRANSLATOR” below.

Notes to “Introduction,” by Henry Hazlitt.

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1954), p. 500.

Notes to “Author’s Introduction to the French Edition.”