The Perversion of the Law Without Justification

“The claims of organizers of humanity raises a question which I have often asked them in which, so far as I know, they have never answered: if the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind? The organizers, maintain that society, when left undirected, rushes headlong to its inevitable destruction because the instincts of the people are so perverse. The legislators claim to stop the suicidal course and give it a saner direction. Apparently, then, the legislators and the organizers have received from Heaven an intelligence and virtue that place them beyond and above mankind; if so, let them show their titles to the superiority.”

“They would be the shepherd over us, their sheep. Certainly such an arrangement presupposes that they are naturally superior to the rest of us. And certainly, we are fully justified in demanding from the legislators and organizers proof of this natural superiority.”

Proper Legislative Function

“It is not true that a legislator has absolute power over our persons and property. The existence of persons and property preceded the existence of the legislator, and his function is only to guarantee their safety.”

“It is not True that the function of law is to regulate our consciences, our ideas, our will, our education, our opinions, our work, our trade, our talents, or our pleasures. The function of law is to protect the free exercise of these rights, and prevent any person from interfering with the free exercise of the same right by any other person.”

“Since Law necessarily requires a support of force, its lawful domain is only in the areas where the use of force is necessary. This is justice.”

“Every individual has the right to use force for lawful self-defense. It is for this reason that the collective force – which is only the organized combination of the individual forces – may lawfully be used for the same purpose; and it cannot be used legitimately for any other purpose.”

“Law is the organization of the individual right of self-defense which existed before law was formalized. Law is justice.”

Frederic Bastiat “The Law” written in 1850, 2 years after the French Revolution of 1848.