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In The Law, Bastiat make a timeless and compelling argument in favor of the natural and innate privileges bestowed upon humankind by God of the three preserving elements of life. His central argument is summarized on page two: “It is not because men have made laws, that personality, liberty, and property exist.
On the contrary, it is because personality, liberty, and property exist beforehand, that men make laws. What then, is the law? As I have said elsewhere, it is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.” Bastiat argues that the ultimate aim of the law is for justice “to reign over all,” and this feat is accomplished through the legislative substitution of communal power for that of the person. In all modes of operation (even in the use of force), preservation of liberty and the securitization of the person and property remain paramount. The law, in essence, is constructed as a means to serve the people and not and an end that trumps the individual.
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