The state must give a great deal to its citizens and take very little from them.

Frédéric Bastiat
Pamphlets
Section 3 of 4

Today’s quote, which is somewhat absurd, is a recap of the programme of the Montagnards (the central planning movement of the 19th century issued from the French Revolution) for the presidential election of 1848. After comparing the preambles of the French and the American constitutions, Frédéric Bastiat sadly notes that the “personification of the state has been in the past and will be in the future a rich source of calamities and revolutions”, which leads him to revisit how this feature translates into facts. Nothing much has changed since and we can still observe that it enables “those with ambition and those with utopian dreams” to make promises without mentioning their costs.

Then, they get elected until the next revolution. This is hopeless. 

Other quotes from The State:
Section 1 of 4 – Section 2 of 4 – Section 4 of 4