Bastiat’s Economics

Frederic Bastiat’s economic views are important for understanding practical economics.

in an 1850 essay, "What is Seen and What is Not Seen,” Bastiat noted " There the economist and member of the French parliament pointed out that law "produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them."

Bastiat further stated "there is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: The bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good economist takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen."

Similarly, you can have compassion for workers who have lost their jobs. They can be seen. You cannot have compassion for unknown potential workers in other industries who don’t get job offers because a compassionate government subsidizes an unprofitable company. The potential employees are never hired and are therefore unseen.

You may say that unfortunate, known homeowners who lose their homes through foreclosure, make it possible for unknown potential individuals, who may not have been able to afford a home in the past, to now buy one cheaply.

Or, for that matter, many more workers profit from exports due to free trade agreements, for every worker who loses out to corresponding imports. ( See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments.)