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zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / Apr 3, 2017 10:20 PM
Authored by Jeff Thomas via InterernationalMan.com,
French economist Frédéric Bastiat was a man far ahead of his time. He was a “classical liberal,” which today would identify him as a libertarian. He expanded upon the free-market argument set forth by Adam Smith in 1776.
In 1845, the French government levied protective tariffs on scores of items, from sewing needles to locomotives. The intent was to protect French industries from companies outside France that could produce the goods more cheaply.
The reaction from Mister Bastiat was to publish “The Candlemakers’ Petition,” a satirical proposal to the government that was intended to help them see the nonsense of protective tariffs.
Their plea to the Chamber of Deputies was that the government pass a law “requiring the closing of all windows, dormers, skylights, inside and outside shutters, curtains, casements, bull’s-eyes, deadlights, and blinds—in short, all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures through which the light of the sun is wont to enter houses.”
The post Trump & The Candlemakers’ Petition appeared first on Silver For The People.