Quote 3) Frederic Bastiat: Cause and effects

Frederic Bastiat:

In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them

ht Kimble.

I have not read any Bastiat – so I have very little to say.

4 replies
  1. Peter Cresswell
    Peter Cresswell says:

    An economist who hasn’t read Bastiat is like …
    an architect who’s never studied Frank Lloyd Wright;
    an educationalist who’s never heard of Maria Montessori;
    a literature professor who’s never read Victor Hugo;
    a political studies lecturer who’s never studied John Locke…

    I grant you it happens. But it shouldn’t. 🙂

    Especially when his ‘Economic Sophisms’ and much else besides is online in PDF form.

  2. Matt Nolan
    Matt Nolan says:

    I’ll have to keep that in mind. I’m in the middle of an economic methodology book at the moment – I’ll have a look at the pdf after that 🙂

  3. Matt Nolan
    Matt Nolan says:

    “They’re like little short stories you can read before bed”

    Sounds just like my sort of reading 🙂

    If you can sell ideas in short stories, then I believe the ideas have greater merit

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