Frédéric Bastiat

Born in Bayonne, France, on June 30, 1801, Claude-Frédéric Bastiat became one of the best-known voices of the French liberal school of political economy. He was an economist, essayist, and public figure who wrote during a turbulent period in French history, and he later served in the French National Assembly.

Bastiat is remembered less for dense theory than for the lively way he explained ideas. He argued strongly for free trade, opposed protectionism, and often showed how public policy creates effects that are easy to see as well as consequences that are easy to miss. His writing helped popularize ideas now closely associated with opportunity cost and the contrast between the seen and the unseen.

Among his best-known works are The Law and the satirical “Candlemakers' Petition,” both of which show his gift for making economic arguments readable, funny, and direct. He died in Rome on December 24, 1850, but his short essays and political writing continue to attract readers far beyond economics.