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Quotation of the Day…

… is paragraph 8 of Chapter 2 (“Obstacle and Cause”) of the First Series of Frédéric Bastiat‘s brilliant collection entitled (in English) Economic Sophisms (original emphasis):

imagesThe division of labor, which results from the opportunity to engage in exchange, makes it possible for each man, instead of struggling on his own behalf to overcome all the obstacles that stand in his way, to struggle against only one, not solely on his own account, but for the benefit of his fellow men, who in turn perform the same service for him.

DBx: Those who wish to restrict trade wish to artificially shrink the opportunities for people to help others and to be helped by others.  And what makes protectionists – right, left, and center – all so galling is that they proclaim that their goal is to help humanity.

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