the law perverted

The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish! –Frederic Bastiat

The central theme of this blog can be traced to the Frenchman, Frederic Bastiat and the quote above taken from the opening lines of his treatise on how The Law had become perverted by the politicians of his time.  Bastiat was born in 1801 and died from tuberculosis in 1850.

There are many (both living and dead) who believe(d) that the times in which they lived were unique.  Another purpose of this blog is to help clarify this misconception.   This blogger believes there is very little that is unique to any given time.  Certain aspects of events change but the fundamental characteristics of almost all things are simply a variation of something that has occurred in the past.

The topics on which I plan to blog include the concept of knowledge, history (emphasis on American history), economics, politics, gold and silver, and the theory of money.   With respect to economics, my emphasis will be on the Austrian theory.  With respect to politics, my emphasis will be on libertarian ideas which are actually closely related to the 17th and 18th century liberal ideas.  Of course, I clearly imply that label of ” liberal” today is an entirely different concept  from 17th century liberal philosophy.

One should have the opportunity to read Bastiat for himself.  If you are so inclined, you can read The Law for your self at this site.