I would like the books of the League to be constantly open to the eyes of our friends, and even more to those of our ennemies.

Frédéric Bastiat
Complete Works, Volume 7, pages 38 to 42 (in French)
Mémorial bordelais, February 10th, 1846

This article published in the Mémorial bordelais is the third and last of the series on the project for an anti-protectionist League. The theme here is about financing the League and the difficulties there may be to collect donations, which are essential to the functioning of the League (not “for dinners, orgies, sumptuous clothes” but for a “teaching can only be delivered through a powerful association”).

He acknowledges the problem of externalities (it is possible to agree with the cause without giving out money and then benefit from the successes of the League nonetheless) and delves into the reason why philanthropy is so scattered in France although he believes that “civilisation and the spread of wealth would infallibly bring the taste for philanthropic associations”. According to him, trust towards what is being done is key, nobody being able to accept the risk of being duped over his donations (one thinks about the issues at the end of the 20th century with the League for Research against Cancer in France, or even about the attitude of people giving alms in the street who are concerned about giving “for the good cause” and not to “fake beggars”).

Today’s quote concluding the article aims at gaining trust and highlights nothing else than the value of transparency, which is still a theme of utter relevance today. An essential point of transparency appears here – it should not be confined to the friends (who are the beneficiaries of it) but also available to opponents who, being the first to look for faults allowing them to build up criticism, are the best controllers of the proper functioning of what is submitted to transparency.

First article – Second article – Third article