ABSTRACT
Summary The idea of harmony that stands at the centre of Bastiat’s work attracted much criticism. Some described it as a kind of theodicy – a defense of the goodness and power of Providence in the face of evil – while others saw in it a rather naïve optimism likely to induce a utopian vision of mankind’s future. This chapter shows what the idea of harmony really meant for Bastiat, who through his analysis of labour, trade, solidarity, competition and liberty revealed himself to be an insightful theorist of liberalism.
