10 Must-Read Books on Liberty
The Law by Frédéric Bastiat
Influenced heavily by John Locke and Henry Hazlitt, The Law is an exploration of individual rights and the proper role of government. Bastiat lays out the case for individual rights of man and the morality of defending those rights. The State, being a collective of individual forces, is properly used to protect those rights. It is a perversion of law to use the State to violate the rights of individuals. Bastiat also warns against philanthropic pursuits by governments, as the need for philanthropy never ends, such action by the State is cause for never ending expansion, amassing power that will crush the rights of the individual.
The Law is great and succinct case for individual liberty and the Rule of Law and gives a peak at the some of the political beliefs surrounding the French Revolution.
