The Little Arsenal Of The Free Trader
--If they say to you: There are no absolute principles; prohibition may
be bad, and restriction good--
Reply: Restriction prohibits all that it keeps from coming in.
--If they say to you: Agriculture is the nursing mother of the country--
Reply: That which feeds a country is not exactly agriculture, but
grain.
--If they say to you: The basis of the sustenance of t
agriculture--
Reply: The basis of the sustenance of the people is grain. Thus a law
which causes two bushels of grain to be obtained by agricultural labor
at the expense of four bushels, which the same labor would have
produced but for it, far from being a law of sustenance, is a law of
starvation.
--If they say to you: A restriction on the admission of foreign grain
leads to more cultivation, and, consequently, to a greater home
production--
Reply: It leads to sowing on the rocks of the mountains and the sands of
the sea. To milk and steadily milk, a cow gives more milk; for who can
tell the moment when not a drop more can be obtained? But the drop costs
dear.
--If they say to you: Let bread be dear, and the wealthy farmer will
enrich the artisans--
Reply: Bread is dear when there is little of it, a thing which can make
but poor, or, if you please, rich people who are starving.
--If they insist on it, saying: When food is dear, wages rise--
Reply by showing that in April, 1847, five-sixths of the workingmen were
beggars.
--If they say to you: The profits of the workingmen must rise with the
dearness of food--
Reply: This is equivalent to saying that in an unprovisioned vessel
everybody has the same number of biscuits whether he has any or not.
--If they say to you: A good price must be secured for those who sell
grain--
Reply: Certainly; but good wages must be secured to those who buy it.
--If they say to you: The land owners, who make the law, have raised the
price of food without troubling themselves about wages, because they
know that when food becomes dear, wages naturally rise--
Reply: On this principle, when workingmen come to make the law, do not
blame them if they fix a high rate of wages without troubling themselves
to protect grain, for they know that if wages are raised, articles of
food will naturally rise in price.
--If they say to you: What, then, is to be done?
Reply: Be just to everybody.
--If they say to you: It is essential that a great country should
manufacture iron--
Reply: The most essential thing is that this great country should have
iron.
--If they say to you: It is necessary that a great country should
manufacture cloth.
Reply: It is more necessary that the citizens of this great country
should have cloth.
--If they say to you: Labor is wealth--
Reply: It is false.
And, by way of developing this, add: A bleeding is not health, and the
proof of it is, that it is done to restore health.
--If they say to you: To compel men to work over rocks and get an ounce
of iron from a ton of ore, is to increase their labor, and,
consequently, their wealth--
Reply: To compel men to dig wells, by denying them the use of river
water, is to add to their useless labor, but not their wealth.
--If they say to you: The sun gives his heat and light without requiring
remuneration--
Reply: So much the better for me, since it costs me nothing to see
distinctly.
--And if they reply to you: Industry in general loses what you would
have paid for lights--
Retort: No, for having paid nothing to the sun, I use that which it
saves me in paying for clothes, furniture and candles.
--So, if they say to you: These English rascals have capital which pays
them nothing--
Reply: So much the better for us; they will not make us pay interest.
--If they say to you: These perfidious Englishmen find iron and coal at
the same spot--
Reply: So much the better for us; they will not make us pay anything for
bringing them together.
--If they say to you: The Swiss have rich pastures which cost little--
Reply: The advantage is on our side, for they will ask for a lesser
quantity of our labor to furnish our farmers oxen and our stomachs food.
--If they say to you: The lands in the Crimea are worth nothing, and pay
no taxes--
Reply: The gain is on our side, since we buy grain free from those
charges.
--If they say to you: The serfs of Poland work without wages--
Reply: The loss is theirs and the gain is ours, since their labor is
deducted from the price of the grain which their masters sell us.
--Then, if they say to you: Other nations have many advantages over us--
Reply: By exchange, they are forced to let us share in them.
--If they say to you: With liberty we shall be swamped with bread, beef
a la mode, coal, and coats--
Reply: We shall be neither cold nor hungry.
--If they say to you: With what shall we pay?
Reply: Do not be troubled about that. If we are to be inundated, it will
be because we are able to pay. If we cannot pay we will not be
inundated.
--If they say to you: I would allow free trade, if a stranger, in
bringing us one thing, took away another; but he will carry off our
specie--
Reply: Neither specie nor coffee grow in the fields of Beauce or come
out of the manufactories of Elbeuf. For us to pay a foreigner with
specie is like paying him with coffee.
--If they say to you: Eat meat--
Reply: Let it come in.
--If they say to you, like the Presse: When you have not the money to
buy bread with, buy beef--
Reply: This advice is as wise as that of Vautour to his tenant, If a
person has not money to pay his rent with, he ought to have a house of
his own.
--If they say to you, like the Presse: The State ought to teach the
people why and how it should eat meat--
Reply: Only let the State allow the meat free entrance, and the most
civilized people in the world are old enough to learn to eat it without
any teacher.
--If they say to you: The State ought to know everything, and foresee
everything, to guide the people, and the people have only to let
themselves be guided--
Reply: Is there a State outside of the people, and a human foresight
outside of humanity? Archimedes might have repeated all the days of his
life, With a lever and a fulcrum I will move the world, but he could
not have moved it, for want of those two things. The fulcrum of the
State is the nation, and nothing is madder than to build so many hopes
on the State; that is to say, to assume a collective science and
foresight, after having established individual folly and
short-sightedness.
--If they say to you: My God! I ask no favors, but only a duty on grain
and meat, which may compensate for the heavy taxes to which France is
subjected; a mere little duty, equal to what these taxes add to the cost
of my grain--
Reply: A thousand pardons, but I, too, pay taxes. If, then, the
protection which you vote yourself results in burdening for me, your
grain with your proportion of the taxes, your insinuating demand aims at
nothing less than the establishment between us of the following
arrangement, thus worded by yourself: Since the public burdens are
heavy, I, who sell grain, will pay nothing at all; and you, my neighbor,
the buyer, shall pay two parts, to wit, your share and mine. My
neighbor, the grain dealer, you may have power on your side, but not
reason.
--If they say to you: It is, however, very hard for me, a tax payer, to
compete in my own market with foreigners who pay none--
Reply: First, This is not your market, but our market. I who live on
grain, and pay for it, must be counted for something.
Secondly. Few foreigners at this time are free from taxes.
Thirdly. If the tax which you vote repays to you, in roads, canals and
safety, more than it costs you, you are not justified in driving away,
at my expense, the competition of foreigners who do not pay the tax but
who do not have the safety, roads and canals. It is the same as saying:
I want a compensating duty, because I have fine clothes, stronger horses
and better plows than the Russian laborer.
Fourthly. If the tax does not repay what it costs, do not vote it.
Fifthly. If, after you have voted a tax, it is your pleasure to escape
its operation, invent a system which will throw it on foreigners. But
the tariff only throws your proportion on me, when I already have enough
of my own.
--If they say to you: Freedom of commerce is necessary among the
Russians that they may exchange their products with advantage (opinion
of M. Thiers, April, 1847)--
Reply: This freedom is necessary everywhere, and for the same reason.
--If they say to you: Each country has its wants; it is according to
that that it must act (M. Thiers)--
Reply: It is according to that that it acts of itself when no one
hinders it.
--If they say to you: Since we have no sheet iron, its admission must be
allowed (M. Thiers)--
Reply: Thank you, kindly.
--If they say to you: Our merchant marine must have freight; owing to
the lack of return cargoes our vessels cannot compete with foreign
ones--
Reply: When you want to do everything at home, you can have cargoes
neither going nor coming. It is as absurd to wish for a navy under a
prohibitory system as to wish for carts where all transportation is
forbidden.
--If they say to you: Supposing that protection is unjust, everything is
founded on it; there are moneys invested, and rights acquired, and it
cannot be abandoned without suffering--
Reply: Every injustice profits some one (except, perhaps, restriction,
which in the long run profits no one), and to use as an argument the
disturbance which the cessation of the injustice causes to the person
profiting by it, is to say that an injustice, only because it has
existed for a moment, should be eternal.
More
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A Negative Railroad
I have already remarked that when the observer has unfortunately taken his point of view from the position of producer, he cannot fail in his conclusions to clash with the general interest, because the producer, as such, must desire the existence ... Absolute Prices
If we wish to judge between freedom of trade and protection, to calculate the probable effect of any political phenomenon, we should notice how far its influence tends to the production of abundance or scarcity, and not simply of cheapness or dear... Abundance Scarcity
Which is the best for man or for society, abundance or scarcity? How, it may be exclaimed, can such a question be asked? Has it ever been pretended, is it possible to maintain, that scarcity can be the basis of a man's happiness? Yes; this ha... Appendix
We published an article entitled Dearness-Cheapness, which gained for us the two following letters. We publish them, with the answers: DEAR MR. EDITOR:--You upset all my ideas. I preached in favor of free trade, and found it very convenient ... Balance Of Trade
Our adversaries have adopted a system of tactics, which embarrasses us not a little. Do we prove our doctrine? They admit the truth of it in the most respectful manner. Do we attack their principles? They abandon them with the best possible grace.... Capital And Interest
My object in this treatise is to examine into the real nature of the Interest of Capital, for the purpose of proving that it is lawful, and explaining why it should be perpetual. This may appear singular, and yet, I confess, I am more afraid of be... Capital And Interest
I address this treatise to the workmen of Paris, more especially to those who have enrolled themselves under the banner of Socialist democracy. I proceed to consider these two questions: 1st. Is it consistent with the nature of things, and with ju... Commentary
If this little book were destined to live three or four thousand years, to be read and re-read, pondered and studied, phrase by phrase, word by word, and letter by letter, from generation to generation, like a new Koran; if it were to fill the libra... Conclusion
All the Sophisms which I have so far combated, relate to the restrictive policy; and some even on this subject, and those of the most remarkable, I have, in pity to the reader, passed over: acquired rights; unsuitableness; exhaustion of money, etc... Conflicting Principles
There is one thing which embarrasses me not a little; and it is this: Sincere men, taking upon the subject of political economy the point of view of producers, have arrived at this double formula: A government should dispose of consumers subje... Dearness Cheapness
I consider it my duty to say a few words in regard to the delusion caused by the words dear and cheap. At the first glance, I am aware, you may be disposed to find these remarks somewhat subtile, but whether subtile or not, the question is whether... Discriminating Duties
A poor laborer of Gironde had raised, with the greatest possible care and attention, a nursery of vines, from which, after much labor, he at last succeeded in producing a pipe of wine, and forgot, in the joy of his success, that each drop of this ... Does Protection Raise The Rate Of Wages?
Workmen, your situation is singular! you are robbed, as I will presently prove to you.... But no; I retract the word; we must avoid an expression which is violent; perhaps indeed incorrect; inasmuch as this spoliation, wrapped in the sophisms whic... Effort Result
We have seen that between our wants and their gratification many obstacles are interposed. We conquer or weaken these by the employment of our faculties. It may be said, in general terms, that industry is an effort followed by a result. But by ... Equalizing Of The Facilities Of Production
It is said ... but, for fear of being accused of manufacturing Sophisms for the mouths of the protectionists, I will allow one of their most able reasoners to speak for himself. It is our belief that protection should correspond to, should be th... Fourth Tableau
The Agitation. Jacques Bonhomme. Parisians, let us demand the reform of the octroi; let it be put back to what it was. Let every citizen be FREE to buy wood, butter and meat where it seems good to him. The People. Hurrah for LIBERTY! Pierre.... Human Labor National Labor
Destruction of machinery--prohibition of foreign goods. These are two acts proceeding from the same doctrine. We do meet with men who, while they rejoice over the revelation of any great invention, favor nevertheless the protective policy; but s... Inferior Council Of Labor
What! You have the assurance to demand for every citizen the right to buy, sell, trade, exchange, and to render service for service according to his own discretion, on the sole condition that he will conduct himself honestly, and not defraud the r... Introduction
My object in this little volume has been to refute some of the arguments usually advanced against Free Trade. I am not seeking a combat with the protectionists. I merely advance a principle which I am anxious to present clearly to the minds of s... Metaphors
A Sophism will sometimes expand and extend itself through the whole tissue of a long and tedious theory. Oftener it contracts into a principle, and hides itself in one word. Heaven preserve us, said Paul Louis, from the Devil and from the spiri... National Independence
Among the arguments advanced in favor of a restrictive system, we must not forget that which is drawn from the plea of national independence. What will we do, it is asked, in case of war, if we are at the mercy of England for our iron and coal? ... Natural History Of Spoliation
Why do I give myself up to that dry science, political economy? The question is a proper one. All labor is so repugnant in its nature that one has the right to ask of what use it is. Let us examine and see. I do not address myself to those ... Obstacle Cause
The obstacle mistaken for the cause--scarcity mistaken for abundance. The sophism is the same. It is well to study it under every aspect. Man naturally is in a state of entire destitution. Between this state and the satisfying of his wants, th... Obstructed Rivers Pleading For The Prohibitionists
Some years since, being at Madrid, I went to the meeting of the Cortes. The subject in discussion was a proposed treaty with Portugal, for improving the channel of the Douro. A member rose and said: If the Douro is made navigable, transportation m... Our Productions Are Overloaded With Taxes
This is but a new wording of the last Sophism. The demand made is, that the foreign article should be taxed, in order to neutralize the effects of the tax, which weighs down national produce. It is still then but the question of equalizing the fac... Petition From The Manufacturers Of Candles
To the Honorable the Members of the Chamber of Deputies: GENTLEMEN,--You are in the right way: you reject abstract theories; abundance, cheapness, concerns you little. You are entirely occupied with the interest of the producer, whom you are anx... Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
After this, therefore on account of this. The most common and the most false of arguments. Real suffering exists in England. This occurrence follows two others: First. The reduction of the tariff. Second. The loss of two consecutive harv... Raw Material
It is said that no commerce is so advantageous as that in which manufactured articles are exchanged for raw material; because the latter furnishes aliment for national labor. And it is hence concluded: That the best regulation of duties, woul... Reciprocity
We have just seen that all which renders transportation difficult, acts in the same manner as protection; or, if the expression be preferred, that protection tends towards the same result as obstacles to transportation. A tariff may then be tru... Reciprocity Again
Mr. de Saint Cricq has asked: Are we sure that our foreign customers will buy from us as much as they sell us? Mr. de Dombasle says: What reason have we for believing that English producers will come to seek their supplies from us, rather than f... Robbery By Bounties
They find my little book of Sophisms too theoretical, scientific, and metaphysical. Very well. Let us try a trivial, commonplace, and, if necessary, coarse style. Convinced that the public is duped in the matter of protection, I have desired to pr... Salt Postage And Customs
[This chapter is an amusing dialogue relating principally to English Postal Reform. Being inapplicable to any condition of things existing in the United States, it is omitted.--Translator.] ... Something Else
--What is restriction? --A partial prohibition. --What is prohibition? --An absolute restriction. --So that what is said of one is true of the other? --Yes, comparatively. They bear the same relation to each other that the arc of the ... Spoliation And Law
[Footnote 16: On the 27th of April, 1850, after a very curious discussion, which was reproduced in the Moniteur, the General Council of Agriculture, Manufactures and Commerce issued the following order: Political economy shall be taught by the g... Supremacy By Labor
As in a time of war, supremacy is attained by superiority in arms, can, in a time of peace, supremacy be secured by superiority in labor? This question is of the greatest interest at a time when no one seems to doubt that in the field of industr... The House
Mondor had a house. In building it, he had extorted nothing from any one whatever. He owed it to his own personal labor, or, which is the same thing, to labor justly rewarded. His first care was to make a bargain with an architect, in virtue of whic... The Little Arsenal Of The Free Trader
--If they say to you: There are no absolute principles; prohibition may be bad, and restriction good-- Reply: Restriction prohibits all that it keeps from coming in. --If they say to you: Agriculture is the nursing mother of the country-- R... The Plane
A very long time ago there lived, in a poor village, a joiner, who was a philosopher, as all my heroes are, in their way. James worked from morning till night with his two strong arms, but his brain was not idle, for all that. He was fond of reviewi... The Right And The Left Hand
[Report to the King.] SIRE--When we see these men of the Libre Echange audaciously disseminating their doctrines, and maintaining that the right of buying and selling is implied by that of ownership (a piece of insolence that M. Billault has cr... The Sack Of Corn
Mathurin, in other respects as poor as Job, and obliged to earn his bread by day-labor, became, nevertheless, by some inheritance, the owner of a fine piece of uncultivated land. He was exceedingly anxious to cultivate it. Alas! said he, to make dit... The Tax Collector
JACQUES BONHOMME, Vine-grower. M. LASOUCHE, Tax Collector. L. You have secured twenty hogsheads of wine? J. Yes, with much care and sweat. --Be so kind as to give me six of the best. --Six hogsheads out of twenty! Good heavens! You want ... The Three Aldermen
A DEMONSTRATION IN FOUR TABLEAUX. First Tableau. [The scene is in the hotel of Alderman Pierre. The window looks out on a fine park; three persons are seated near a good fire.] Pierre. Upon my word, a fire is very comfortable when the stoma... The Two Hatchets
Petition of Jacques Bonhomme, Carpenter, to M. Cunin-Gridaine, Minister of Commerce. MR. MANUFACTURER-MINISTER: I am a carpenter, as was Jesus; I handle the hatchet and the plane to serve you. In chopping and splitting from morning until nigh... Theory Practice
Partisans of free trade, we are accused of being theorists, and not relying sufficiently upon practice. What a powerful argument against Mr. Say (says Mr. Ferrier,) is the long succession of distinguished ministers, the imposing league of writer... There Are No Absolute Principles
The facility with which men resign themselves to ignorance in cases where knowledge is all-important to them, is often astonishing; and we may be sure that a man has determined to rest in his ignorance, when he once brings himself to proclaim as a... Third Tableau
Twenty Years After. Son. Father, decide; we must leave Paris. Work is slack, and everything is dear. Father. My son, you do not know how hard it is to leave the place where we were born. Son. The worst of all things is to die there of misery... To Artisans And Laborers
Many papers have attacked me before you. Will you not read my defense? I am not mistrustful. When a man writes or speaks, I believe that he thinks what he says. What is the question? To ascertain which is the more advantageous for you, restri... Two Systems Of Morals
Arrived at the end of the preceding chapter, if he gets so far, I imagine I hear the reader say: Well, now, was I wrong in accusing political economists of being dry and cold? What a picture of humanity! Spoliation is a fatal power, almost norm... Utopian Ideas
If I were His Majesty's Minister! --Well, what would you do? --I should begin by--by--upon my word, by being very much embarrassed. For I should be Minister only because I had the majority, and I should have that only because I had made it, a... Wonderful Discovery!
At this moment, when all minds are occupied in endeavoring to discover the most economical means of transportation; when, to put these means into practice, we are leveling roads, improving rivers, perfecting steamboats, establishing railroads, and...