Bastiat is best known for writing The Law. In it Bastiat states that man’s right to “defend his person, his liberty, and his property” comes not from the state, but from God. He continues to argue that the law becomes perverted whenever it violates this natural right, which essentially amounts to plundering by the government. (Language which Ayn Rand would borrow in Atlas Shrugged.)
In The Law Bastiat also explains that a government which concerns itself with philanthropy rather than justice can grow endlessly, as philanthropy, unlike justice, has no limits. Remember this whenever a politician claims they need more power because they want to help people – it is within the scope of possibility that the politician merely wants more power.
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