Should we kill them in order to teach them how to live?

Frédéric Bastiat
Complete Works, Volume 7, pages 152 to 159 (in French)
Courrier français, November 10th, 1846

Frédéric Bastiat responds in two letters to the editor of the National who has just published two articles attacking free-trade. Curiously, the National seems to attack free-trade while claiming to be in favour of it. However, it puts the cart before the horse and wishes to favour the political ability of the government to meddle in the economy in order to assert first its “superior interests” before allowing exchanges to be free. Frédéric Bastiat exposes the contradictions of the National, which believes that the bellicose policies of the government will lead to peace among the peoples who will then be able to live in economic harmony.

I pick up today’s quote that sums up rather well the geopolitical position of government that is exposed by Frédéric Bastiat. It is dear to me because I did not know it was from him (if anybody knows of a source demonstrating that someone said it before him, I shall be delighted) while I happened to ask the question myself in the past. It is not unusual to cross dictocrats who dare to support their authoritarian ideas for the good of others without any regard towards their own contradictions and the evil they produced on that ground. No, killing somebody to teach him how to live does not constitute an acceptable solution.