Frederic Bastiat was a French
legislator who became terribly distressed by the rampant tendencies towards
socialism in the French socialist revolution of 1848. His central theme in
"The Law" is that the only legitimate reason for law is to prevent injustice.
He defined injustice as "plunder", which was any removal or
redistribution of life, liberty, or property. He was fiercely passionate, at
one point writing:
"No legal
plunder: This
is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability,
harmony, and logic. Until the day
of my death, I shall proclaim this
principle with all the force of
my lungs! (Which, alas! is all too
inadequate)."
He died of tuberculosis less than
a year after he wrote these words.
Source: The
Law, Frederick Bastiat
