ECON 307

In Class Exercise Twelve - Bastiat

1.  Writing against the whole Marxian idea of "class conflict" Bastiat instead wrote about economic harmonies.  He said that capital accumulation and markets were not antagonistic to workers, but instead would benefit them in different ways.  Explain.

2.  Why did Bastiat emphasize consumer wants as driving economic activity?  What does "revealed preference" mean?  Careful - though, his emphasis on consumer wants does not mean Bastiat thought consumption created wealth.  He agreed with Say's law.  So how is his idea different?

3.  Explain Bastiat's analysis of What is Seen and What Is Not Seen (the broken window).  Talk about real resource use in your answer.

4.  What is the essence of government, according to Bastiat?  Did Bastiat like special interest legislation?  Why or why not?

5.  Did Bastiat think that majority vote legislation was moral?  Why or why not?

6.  What are Bastiat's arguments for free trade?  Why did he think free trade and peace were linked together?

7.  Any other questions on this material?