The stupid impudence of ********* is beyond belief…… These people entertain themselves by riding roughshod over all rules of representative government, be it the constitution, the laws or the decrees;

Frédéric Bastiat
Complete Works, Volume 7, pages 403 to 404 (in French)
Tuesday, 13th (Summer of 1849)

“Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental”. Without such a warning, we would be tempted to believe that Frédéric Bastiat saw Donald Trump coming! This remains a sign that our politicians come and go but look alike. As soon as 1849, there were some men of power who acted in a silly manner and were riding roughshod on the constitution without giving a hoot. I do not know who is hiding behind these asterisks but eventually, it does not really matter!

What matters here is that democratic institutions exist for a good reason, that of constraining the power to do harm of those with whom we disagree. The sentence that follows today’s quote (“they do not realise that they are making it impossible for the very monarchy they are dreaming about”) conveys the fact that not respecting the institutions is also detrimental to those who believe they can benefit of it. Indeed, taking power while ignoring institutions commands revolutions. What democracy offers when it constrains the powers of opponents (and thus of oneself when in power), is a stability that is absolutely necessary for a country to move forward and for the well-being of the population.

NB: there is no such date as Tuesday the 13th between April and October 1849. Frédéric Bastiat in his retreat must have been contemptuous of the passing days!