ABSTRACT
Summary Better than anyone else of his time, Bastiat appreciated the social, economic and political consequences of the rise of the State. He was not a prophet, of course, but in a sense he defined a trend. This chapter examines his methodological stance, his practical intentions, and the normative or moral ambitions of his liberalism. As a political philosopher rather than an economist, he explained how the rise of the State had driven individual freedoms into retreat. His famous thoughts about the law were essentially in this vein. In effect, Bastiat saw the State and the law as the twin foes of freedom.
