Wednesday, August 25, 2004
the other day i finished re-reading The Law by frederic bastiat, originally published in french as a pamphlet in 1850, and i enthusiastically commend it. even if one finds all (or most, for that matter) of the positions expounded therein unpalatable, he will find, at the very least, a wonderful example of clear and straightforward prose, which allows the ideas to propel themselves along by their own momentum, as it were--he says what he means and then gets out of the way--and which provides a nice antidote to the jargon-laced rhetoric of much of modern academic prose. that, as i said, is the very least that the reader will find--but i suspect that he will also be struck by how uncannily relevant many of the things discussed are to our modern situation. it is a fine argument for smaller government and a call for that selfsame body to stop doing things (such as stealing) to the citizens of a nation which it would be illegal for the citizens, in the private sphere, to do to one another.
and on that note, i will end with a quotation from william f. buckley via NR via the financial times, recollected on the occasion of his retirement earlier this summer:
'I would electrocute everyone who uses the word "fair" in connection with income tax policies.'
and on that note, i will end with a quotation from william f. buckley via NR via the financial times, recollected on the occasion of his retirement earlier this summer:
'I would electrocute everyone who uses the word "fair" in connection with income tax policies.'
