ABSTRACT
Summary The publication of an important article on free trade in the Journal des économistes quickly established Frédéric Bastiat’s reputation as an economist. But in the wake of the 1848 upheavals, free trade would not figure on the public agenda for some time. The dazzling rise of socialism, abetted by a complacent press, was viewed by liberals with real anxiety. This chapter analyses the major issues of both a practical and theoretical nature that Bastiat raised in his debates with the socialists. We shall pay particular attention to his exchanges with Proudhon.
