Selected Essays on Political Economy

If there is one book that could change the way you see the world, this is it.

Selected Essays on Political Economy brings Frédéric Bastiat’s most famous pamphlets — such as “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen,” “The Law,” and “The State” — together in one volume.

Each essay tackles topics ranging from the harms of labor unions to the hidden consequences of government subsidies.

Bastiat arms the reader with the tools to become an economist by demonstrating the importance of the seen versus the unseen. To Bastiat, all government plans aimed at creating or saving jobs leave consumers with less goods and divert resources from the most beneficial projects.

Bastiat also shows how a just system of law, the right to defend private property, is necessary for economic freedom. The state, on the other hand, is nothing but legalized theft — a tool that some use to live at the expense of others.