"Frederick Bastiat - That Which Is Seen-That Which Is Not" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bastiat Frederick)

the same time the enjoyment of a pair of shoes and of a window.

Now, as James B. forms a part of society, we must come to the
conclusion, that, taking it altogether, and making an estimate of
its enjoyments and its labours, it has lost the value of the broken
window.

When we arrive at this unexpected conclusion: "Society loses
the value of things which are uselessly destroyed;" and we must assent
to a maxim which will make the hair of protectionists stand on end -To
break, to spoil, to waste, is not to encourage national labour; nor,
more briefly, "destruction is not profit."

What will you say, Monsieur Industriel --what will you say,
disciples of good M. F. Chamans, who has calculated with so much
precision how much trade would gain by the burning of Paris, from
the number of houses it would be necessary to rebuild?

I am sorry to disturb these ingenious calculations, as far as
their spirit has been introduced into our legislation; but I beg him
to begin them again, by taking into the account that which is not
seen, and placing it alongside of that which is seen. The reader
must take care to remember that there are not two persons only, but
three concerned in the little scene which I have submitted to his
attention. One of them, James B., represents the consumer, reduced, by
an act of destruction, to one enjoyment instead of two. Another
under the title of the glazier, shows us the producer, whose trade
is encouraged by the accident. The third is the shoemaker (or some
other tradesman), whose labour suffers proportionably by the same
cause. It is this third person who is always kept in the shade, and
who, personating that which is not seen, is a necessary element of the
problem. It is he who shows us how absurd it is to think we see a
profit in an act of destruction. It is he who will soon teach us
that it is not less absurd to see a profit in a restriction, which is,
after all, nothing else than a partial destruction. Therefore, if
you will only go to the root of all the arguments which are adduced in
its favour, all you will find will be the paraphrase of this vulgar
saying -What would become of the glaziers, if nobody ever broke
windows?

II. THE DISBANDING OF TROOPS.

It is the same with a people as it is with a man. If it
wishes to give itself some gratification, it naturally considers
whether it is worth what it costs. To a nation, security is the
greatest of advantages. If, in order to obtain it, it is necessary
to have an -army of a hundred thousand men, I have nothing to say
against it. It is an enjoyment bought by a sacrifice. Let me not be
misunderstood upon the extent of my position. A member of the assembly
proposes to disband a hundred thousand men, for the sake of