You must see that if you open up communications with all these regions, we will have to endure a deluge of wine, wheat, meat, and wool.

Frédéric Bastiat
Economic Sophisms Third Series

It is through a protest letter full of sophisms that Bastiat comes back on the concept of wealth, which is the ability to use goods and services rather than to produce them.

He takes this opportunity to remind that trade is favoured when obstacles are destroyed, allowing for value creation. Without going into the details of comparative advantages explained by David Ricardo, he takes this opportunity to expose the fear that exists for those who do not understand his demonstration.

As a reminder, the risk of being “flooded by wine, wheat, meat and wool” while the “national employment would dry up” does not exist – it will be necessary to pay for these and in order to pay, something will have to be produced that the neighbour is willing to receive in exchange of these goods.