Government, The Law, and Petition

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Introduction

Government, The Law, and Petition were all essays written by Frederic Bastiat that all have different ideas about how afraid he was of his newly republic country to be run by Socialism. Each essay has its own takeaways and arguments that Bastiat made post-French Revolution, that are still used as principles today in American democracy. We will look at each essay to help better examine what kind of arguments Bastiat was making and how this applies to America today.

"The Government" Analysis

Let’s start with “The Government” essay. In America, we have the privilege of living in a democracy when so many other countries are forced to abide by many rules that they cannot have any say over. It is important to acknowledge concepts made by Bastiat back then that could still apply even now in the United States. Bastiat gives an example of what he defines as government. He says, “Government is that great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else”(Pg. 99). To what extent is this true today in the United States? Do we profit off of the labor of others today? I think the extent of this statement prevails very much in society today. The more recent we go, the more prevalent it is. Management today in big businesses has gotten very intense for the gain of their wealth and increased tensions with their employers. The U.S.’s use of early Capitalism is where this power struggle started. The act of physical labor and harsh working conditions started then and honestly has not gone away to this day. I feel like in today’s workplaces, more people are prone to profiting off of the labor of others, especially being in a management position. An example of this statement can be Amazon’s workplace conditions, which have just recently been involved in backlash. Many employees of Amazon have spoken up and claimed that Amazon’s working conditions are dangerous, and many executives don’t seem to care about it. After doing some research, Michael Verrastro, a previous employee at Amazon, had been in a dangerous situation, at a manufacturing factory of Amazon and had some words to say to Amazon. He claimed, “It’s a fallacy that they like to put forth that they're more concerned about safety when they clearly are not. They’re more concerned about profit” (Verrastro, 2021). This makes me conclude that big companies will do anything, at the cost of their employees, to increase their profits. When looking back at Batsiat’s definition, I can clearly see how this definition of government holds true today, when looking at the bigger picture. If the government does not recognize and fix this issue, this could lead to the failure of wealth and influence because of the lack of motivation and well-being among the citizens of the U.S.

"The Law" Analysis

The next essay by Bastiat is “The Law” essay. Bastiat mentioned all of the rights he believes that all citizens ought to have. This includes unalienable rights and self-defense if these unalienable rights were in harm. I agree with Bastiat’s statement in his essay where he claims that the absence of plunder should be what we strive for as a society. He says, “Until the day of my death, I shall proclaim this principle with all the force of my lungs (which alas! is all too inadequate).” I agree with the idea that though something is legal, it does not make it just. I feel like a lot of things can be misunderstood and done because it is legal. But it is very unethical to just do something because of its legality whenever it is not the right thing to do. This is something that is, more often than not, completely forgotten about in American businesses. Business owners have overthrown this idea of legality and ethics, and have put them together, assuming that just because something is legal, it is the right thing to do. I do believe that our public education system gives an equal opportunity for all citizens to get an education, but I think in recent changes in administration, I can see that declining. *Getting rid of D.E.I programs and special accommodation programs, especially in Oklahoma, does not hold true to the idea that everyone has an equal opportunity to get an education here in America. *

"Petition" Analysis

Lastly, “Petition” was the last essay we got to read from Bastiat. He explains that industries would flourish in France if the government would intervene and ban all unfair foreign competitors that are stopping the advancement of the lighting industry. In the source we get to read about this idea, it states, “Using the same logic, why not cover all the windows in the land to block out the benefits of the sun: that ruthless, foreign competitor who unfairly supplies its light for free” (Pg. 70)? These foreign competitors are driving out profits from the entire French lighting industry. I think it is worth thinking about how foreign competitors are supplying their products, basically for free, and how we need to shut out the benefits of foreign merchandise to increase the benefits of our own products and employees. This is an unseen part of the economy that is putting merchants at a disadvantage and using up the resources that they have worked hard for. Overall, I think Bastiat has some really good points and arguments in his essays that are prevalent in French history but are still present in America today.