Bastiat, Frédéric (1801–1850)

Claude Frederic Bastiat, economist, popular writer, and statesman, made seminal contributions to the advance of libertarian principles and policies. His influence has been enormous and is especially evident in the fields of public choice, international trade, and law and economics. His work continues to inspire scholars to improve our understanding of how both states and economies function.

Virtually all of Bastiat's books and essays were written in the last 6 years of his life, from 1844 to 1850. Before then, he lived in relative seclusion in his native southwestern France, where he dedicated himself to the administration of his landed property and to the quiet and intense study of political economy, especially the works of Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, Antoine-Louis-Claude Destutt de Tracy, Charles Dunoyer, and ...