…when it is generalized, protectionism becomes communism, just as carp fry become adult carp…

Frédéric Bastiat
Part 1 of 7
Pamphlets

This pamphlet is an open letter to Adolphe Thiers who just published his book about private property (De La Propriété, 1848). As an introduction, Frédéric Bastiat announces what thesis he is going to develop, namely that protectionism is a Trojan horse of communism.

A strong idea in this introduction is that a lot of people do not realise their own inconsistencies and find themselves as advocates of communism against their own judgement by the simple fact that they are advocating a position that is similar to communism. Thus, Adolphe Thiers explains in his book how important private property although he is advocating protectionist policies at the same time, which negate private property.

This type of phenomenon is still very much alive nowadays, when one can observe politicians who sincerely want to help the poor and adopt policies that are detrimental to the poor.

Other quotes from Baccalaureate and Socialism:
Part 1 of 7 – Part 2 of 7 – Part 3 of 7 – Part 4 of 7 – Part 5 of 7 – Part 6 of 7 – Part 7 of 7