But when the law, by means of its necessary agent, force, imposes upon men a regulation of labor, a method or a subject of education, a religious faith or creed — then the law is no longer negative; it acts positively upon people. It substitutes the will of the legislator for their own wills; the initiative of the legislator of their own initiatives. When this happens, the people no longer need to discuss, to compare, to plan ahead; the law does all this for them. Intelligence becomes a useless prop for the people; they cease to be men; they lose their personality, their liberty, their property.
The world can definitely benefit from more Bastiat. It's surprising how little known he is given how awesome and easy to understand his ideas are.
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In addition to this, here is a must watch video. Please pay attention to what he's explaining.
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