Author: James Wesley Rawles

(Part 4 of 6) — Socialists Ignore Reason and Facts With the amazing credulity which is typical of the classicists, Fenelon ignores the authority of reason and facts when he attributes the general happiness of the Egyptians, not to their own wisdom but to the wisdom of their kings: “We could not turn our eyes to either shore without seeing rich towns and country estates most agreeably located; fields, never fallowed, covered with golden crops every year; meadows full of flocks; workers bending under the weight of the fruit which the earth lavished upon its cultivators; shepherds who made the …

(Part 3 of 6) — Law Is a Negative Concept The harmlessness of the mission performed by law and lawful defense is self-evident; the usefulness is obvious; and the legitimacy cannot be disputed. As a friend of mine once remarked, this negative concept of law is so true that the statement, the purpose of the law is to cause justice to reign, is not a rigorously accurate statement. It ought to be stated that the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice from reigning. In fact, it is injustice, instead of justice, that has an existence of its own. …

(Part 2 of 6) — The Fatal Idea of Legal Plunder But on the other hand, imagine that this fatal principle has been introduced: Under the pretense of organization, regulation, protection, or encouragement, the law takes property from one person and gives it to another; the law takes the wealth of all and gives it to a few—whether farmers, manufacturers, shipowners, artists, or comedians. Under these circumstances, then certainly every class will aspire to grasp the law, and logically so. The excluded classes will furiously demand their right to vote—and will overthrow society rather than not to obtain it. Even …

(Part 1 of 6) Copyright Notice:  This translation was copyrighted in 1950 by The Foundation For Economic Education (FEE), a non-profit research and educational institution. They kindly granted blanket permission for reprinting. — Editor’s Introductory Note:  The Law is perhaps one of the most important books on economics and government ever written. Because it distills the vagaries of human nature down to their essential elements, it gets to the core of the human dilemma: How we can live together without slaying one another, yet also live in a free society without oppression. Striking that balance is the exception, rather than …