The Law

by Frédéric Bastiat

The Path to Dignity and Progress

Law is justice. And it is under the law of justice -- under the reign of right; under the influence of liberty, safety, stability, and responsibility -- that every person will attain his real worth and the true dignity of his being. It is only under this law of justice that mankind will achieve -- slowly, no doubt, but certainly -- God's design for the orderly and peaceful progress of humanity.

It seems to me that this is theoretically right, for whatever the question under discussion -- whether religious, philosophical, political, or economic; whether it concerns prosperity, morality, equality, right, justice, progress, responsibility, cooperation, property, labor, trade, capital, wages, taxes, population, finance, or government -- at whatever point on the scientific horizon I begin my researches, I invariably reach this one conclusion: The solution to the problems of human relationships is to be found in liberty.