Frederic Bastiat's The Law

Summary: The Law is a well written piece by Frederic Bastiat on the defense of liberty, natural human rights, rule of law, and the importance of true justice. The context of the reading begins with a definition and a purpose of law. Law can be defined as the enforcement of rightful defense via a collective force. Bastiat stated that all purposes of law should be used to protect life, liberty, property and punish plunder.
Plunder is defined by Bastiat as taking belongings from one inhabitant and giving it to others whom it does not belong. He states that if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the initial citizen cannot do without performing a crime, it is indeed unjust and defined as legalized plunder. The reading gives clear and articulate descriptions of how law is and can be used in mischievous ways and that justice is not carried out consistently on an even scale.
Theme: Lawful plunder is a term that Bastiat often uses to describe the perversion of law. The question that Bastiat coveys is: How to tell when a law is unjust or when the law maker has become a source of law breaking? When the very law becomes a means of plunder, Bastiat believes it has lost its character in genuine law. When the …show more content…
In this century alone, it unfortunately has developed a justice system that seems to get more complex as every day passes. Individuals of certain demographics of race, gender, religious beliefs, etc are clearly not being protected under the laws set currently. A lack of consistency with the law will continue to breed an inconstancy of trust of set laws and the government who oversees those laws. The judicial system has holes within it and Bastiat was ahead of his time exposes those holes and the reasoning of why those holes will continue to be manipulated by people who helped make and serve the