Frederic Bastiat Quote

"They would be the shepherds over us, their sheep. Certainly such an arrangement presupposes that they are naturally superior to the rest of us. And certainly we are fully justified in demanding from the legislators and organizers proof of this natural superiority."

by:	Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) [Claude Frederic Bastiat] French economist, statesman, and author. He did most of his writing during the years just before -- and immediately following -- the French Revolution of February 1848
Source:	"The Law" by Frederic Bastiat (1850) http://libertytree.ca/articles/TheLaw
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Categories:	Autocracy, Control, Sovereignty, Subservience, Tyranny
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And those wonderful shepherds in the government are more than willing to fleece us, Obama being the head shepherd.  -- jim k, Austin, Tx      3
Right now I'm workig with a bunch of Brits and it's not only irritating, but down right infuriating when they pull their heir hiarchial bullshiit. I mean honestly, when we have had our own country for almost 200 years ...WTF? I guess they'll be pompus assess forever. The one thing I do know for a fact is that th British taught the Gemans everything about geonocide and they taught the US and A everything they know about Imperialism. You have become the thing you started out hating; the thing you fought against so hard; you have become you're father.  -- L. Hanson, Edmonton, Canada      1
Demanding government, to show their natural superiority, is out of the mindset of the statist theocracy's sheeple. The origin of the U.S. was individual sovereigns administering natural law. Such freedom ordered the sovereigns as naturally superior to their servants, making their representatives inferior. The representatives could lawfully do nothing their masters (the individual sovereigns, personally or in concert) could not do themselves individually. As to the quote, where is the legal nexus that justifies government's (now alleging a status as an organic / tangible hegemony - able to force by power of the gun) usurpation of sovereign inalienable rights ? It doesn't exist. The despotic legislators (executive. legislative, executive, & etc.), contrary to law, the Constitution, and inalienable rights inflicts a once free with compelled compliance, license, victimless crimes, larceny with impunity and all other specie of unlawful tyranny.  -- Mike, Norwalk      2
The media every day glorifies the government and 'celebrity' like the royal family. Yet these phonies are no more superior than the rest of us -- in fact, most are just puppets and actors. We vote for the best act. Truth is the greatest enemy of the State. I wonder when the people will tire of bread and circuses and face reality...  -- E Archer, NYC      2
It is said, it is better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand as a sheep. So many lions, hidden in the shadows now. Bound by an oppresive system, that seeks to destoy the free man. Only becuase some of us have lived long enough to remember the days of true freedom. This aint no place for no hereos.  -- Kimo, USA      2
I think Bastiat sounds a lot like de Tocqueville, Vol 2, Democracy in America, written in about 1820, some thirty years before Bastiat's The Law. Perhaps the allegory of Shepherd (a Government) and Sheep (the People) was common in France during that period. Without knowing for sure, the most that can be said is that notion expressed by both is spot-on.  -- DW Sperry, Lilliwaup, WA      2
-- Mary, MI
Indeed so....  -- Robert, somewhere in the USA      1
This is a contentious assertion, we are not looking for contention, we are seeking solutions, while yes the legislators do suffer from extreme narcissism, WE THE PEOPLE provide the overriding reasonable solutions and invest in the correctness of the correct path, not the malformation of our elected officials.    -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown
Also, the malformation of our elected officials will be altered by the path of reason, the path of reason will not be altered by our narcissistic elected officials.   -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown
Fred, Bastiat is talking about YOU who claims superiority over all of us as the only sane 'adult' in existence!  Talk about narcissistic...  -- E Archer, NYC      1
Mr Archer, all my assertions are no different than the humble summation that 1+1=2, or the planet is a round spherical globe, something the conventional individual rejects depending what drug their on, or who's pulling whatever respective manipulative string.   -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      1
Strawman argument. (Logical fallacy) Since the "conventional individual" does not assert that 1+1=2 or that the world is flat, nor are those of us in dialogue with you on drugs or being manipulated, your attempted misdirection falls flat on its face once again. You constantly claim to be superior to us and lecture us on how we ought to be.  YOU claim to be the guiding adult because we are mentally ill children.  We reject it outright, and I specifically believe you to be mentally deranged, and I am ever hopeful that you will get the help you so desperately need.  You are no danger to me personally, for you are but a paper tiger.  But you must be woefully unhappy and comfort yourself with your narcissistic ideas to keep the demons at bay.  Turn back while you still can, please.  Get off your high horse and join the rest of the human race.  -- E Archer, NYC      2
To fully plan and align your roles as friend, confidante, Mr Archer, are a danger to you? To require everyone to explain your theory of husband of wife before assuming these roles, this is recklessness?  Recklessness has been the order of the day by the conventional individuals in regard to the behavior, leaving infants in train stations, murdering their mating competition.  My relations better understand the appropriateness of the behavior before they are my relations    -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      2
Mr Bastiat, Mr Archer, is a competitor like you. I'm in no contest of superiority. My role is to grow into the appropriateness of a human being.  Narcissistic individuals don't grow, humans grow, mature, develop become better then they were the previous day or previous moment.    -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown      2

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