Reflection of Bastiat's Views on Government and Law
Perspective of Bastiat
Bastiat has an incredibly interesting perspective of government and law, which was likely a result of the previous wrongdoings of the French monarchy. His views on law being strictly being to facilitate the protection of life, liberty, and property and nothing more is the most extreme view possible, but also a valid one. Unfortunately, in most cases this is dang near impossible to achieve with most governments, and laws that are passed are typically based on existing documents such as treaties, constitutions, and other similar documents rather than life, liberty, and property. I would say that most laws do in fact cover those protections though, but some countries and their law enforcement always have some situations which manage to bypass that situation with unjust power. As seen in the United States from time to time, there are sometimes police officers that make the wrong decision and end up with the repercussions from that. As a result, even if the laws themselves are pertaining only to those protections, facilitating them through enforcement is not always in those protections best interest.
Legal Plunder
Another unique perspective of looking at law is through legal plunder. I never considered the fact that legally you can be robbed, with the definition of legal plunder being “the law taking from some person what belongs to them and gives it to another person whom it does not belong.” There are so many things that could be considered legal plunder here in the United States. But something I disagree with Bastiat about is the fact that legal plunder is not all bad. In the excerpt, it considers legal plunder being “tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on.”
Should No Legal Plunder Exist?
Now, Bastiat states that the goal of the law should be to have no legal plunder, which I would disagree with. Harping on one specific example of legal plunder, there are taxes, which takes our money and gives it to the government through the IRS. I don’t have a problem with taxes, though I do dislike paying them, because it gives money to our government which we trust in to advance our country further. There are many examples of similar laws that American citizens must do which would be considered legal plunder, but I would genuinely consider these laws beneficial to the average person. Some include not being able to own certain dangerous pets, possessing drugs, dangerous weapons, and other similar laws. This is technically taking away property and thus considered legal plunder, however this stuff should be banned. As a result, I believe the universal legal plunder system is more viable for the modern world. Everyone should be threatened with the legal plunder, but the legal plunder related laws shouldn’t be insanely excessive which is what democracy, and the bipartisan system, help control here in the United States.
Public Schools Funding
Public schools are paid for by taxes of all statuses, including local, state, and federal dollars. This means that the dollars that schools are funded with come directly from legally plundered dollars of American citizens. In some cases, dependent on the area, schools could receive more funding based on the average wealth of the citizens. This may be the reason that schools in run down areas are less upkept and have less funding overall. As a result, raising a kid in a better area will result in them being in a better public school. With this system, that’s just how this situation is going to happen. I grew up in a suburban town which naturally has a well-funded school district, so I could not relate to the hardships of less fortunate schooling. However, it’s certainly an issue that persists in the environment of the United States. Personally, I don’t have a solution to resolve it, but if some of the lacking districts can be prioritized from state funds then that could potentially help where the local dollars are lacking. And with the recently dissolution of the federal department of education, states should have even more ability to do this on their own. However, public schools are a great example of how good things can come from legal plundering, specifically with our tax dollars, that can provide an overall betterment of our society. Furthermore, there are other public local jobs that are also paid for in a similar manner, such as fire departments, police departments, and even niche ones like building inspectors. These jobs are all funded by the citizens using tax dollars and provide services that we would otherwise not be fortunate to have. All of which fulfill an important role in society that keeps our country going smoothly, branching from small towns to large metropolises.
