The Law

By Pedro Garcia
All congressmen should be required to read "The Law," by Frederic Bastiat. This 70-page book explains, like no other, what the role of the law and government should be. Having been written about one hundred and fifty years ago, it is amazing how relevant this book is today.

Today, the law has many purposes. If we think something is wrong or not as it should be, we are very quick to suggest a law that will fix the problem. We use the law for things for which it was not intended.

The law, Bastiat explains, is a collective force made up of individuals. Because of this, it should not be allowed to do what an individual himself should not be allowed to do. Legal Plunder, as Bastiat calls it, is an example of something that would be illegal for an individual to do, but it is considered legal when done by the government. This is a great example of how the law has been corrupted and it is being used to try to make everything that we might consider wrong, right. What is legal plunder? Here's a great quote by Bastiat:

"...how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime."

So what should The Law be allowed to do? It should be allowed to do only what an individual should be allowed to do. For example, everyone would agree that an individual should be allowed to defend himself and his property. In this case, you can think of the collective force that is the government, as a group of individuals who are helping you defend yourself against someone trying to take your life or property. There is nothing wrong with a group of individuals helping you defend yourself, but there is something wrong with a group of people robbing someone, just as it is wrong for an individual to rob someone. Once one starts viewing the government as a collective force made up of individuals, it is easy to realize that we have made certain crimes legal, as long as they are committed by the collective force that is the government. The law's purpose should be to protect the natural rights of individuals. These natural rights are the right to life, liberty, and property; nothing more.

One very important point that Bastiat makes in his book is that the law is supposed to play a negative role, not a positive one. What he means by this is that so often politicians use the law for what they consider to be justice, but justice cannot be created. Justice is only present in the absence of injustice. For example, The law should be used to protect me from the injustice of having my property taken away from me by someone else. This is an example of how the law makes sure justice reigns; by making sure the injustice of having my property stolen, doesn't take place. On the other hand, when politicians try to help those less fortunate by taking money from others, they are trying to create what they think is justice, when in reality they are violating the natural rights of the people they are taking the money from, and are thus creating an injustice, which is the opposite of what the law should do. If I cannot get five of my friends to legally rob someone, why is the government allowed to do it for me?

The law's role should be limited to one of protector; protector of our natural rights. If all Americans understood this, we would be well on our way to solving our problems, since most of our problems originate from the law being used for the wrong purpose. So how can we fix this corruption of the law? Quite simply. Make the same rules that apply to individuals, apply to the government