The Law

by Frédéric Bastiat

The High Road to Communism

Mr. de Saint-Cricq would extend his philanthropy only to some of the industrial groups; he would demand that the law control the consumers to benefit the producers.

Mr. Considerant would sponsor the cause of the labor groups; he would use the law to secure for them a guaranteed minimum of clothing, housing, food, and all other necessities of life.

Mr. Louis Blanc would say -- and with reason -- that these minimum guarantees are merely the beginning of complete fraternity; he would say that the law should give tools of production and free education to all working people.

Another person would observe that this arrangement would still leave room for inequality; he would claim that the law should give to everyone -- even in the most inaccessible hamlet--luxury, literature, and art.

All of these proposals are the high road to communism; legislation will then be -- in fact, it already is -- the battlefield for the fantasies and greed of everyone.