9 h 25 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can a nation grow richer by keeping useful goods out?
In Economic Sophisms, Frédéric Bastiat takes apart clever but false arguments for protectionism. France’s tariffs shield iron makers, textile mills, and farmers from foreign goods. Bastiat asks readers to look beyond those protected producers: who gains, who pays, and whose costs disappear from the argument?
These short essays use stories, jokes, and plain arithmetic rather than heavy theory. The Petition of the Manufacturers of Candles turns a plea from candle, lamp, and lantern makers into satire. Across the first and second series, Bastiat challenges the praise of scarcity, then widens his attack to taxes, subsidies, public spending, and government habits.
What you’ll discover
- Scarcity put on trial Follow Bastiat as he challenges the claim that having less can make a nation richer.
- A petition with bite Meet the candle makers whose appeal exposes, through satire, the logic Bastiat opposes.
- The consumer comes first See why a shoemaker’s need for bread, cloth, and fuel matters alongside his sales.
- Beyond the tariff barrier Explore how Bastiat extends his questions about gains and costs to taxes and subsidies.
- Arguments without heavy language Enjoy plain arithmetic, parables, and mockery aimed at making economic claims easier to examine.
Who will love it
For readers who love a lively way into economic thinking, witty satire, stories and jokes, and anyone curious about trade, tariffs, and why they persist.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Protection grew from interests, not from reason
- Abundance is wealth and scarcity is not
- A satire shows how absurd the logic gets
- Consumers are everyone, and producers are only some
- The state, taxes and plunder follow the same pattern
- Wit is his method and critics have pushed back
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 9 h 25 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Ökonomische Sophismen in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Ökonomische Sophismen
by Frédéric Bastiat · 1845
Candle makers ask lawmakers to block out the sun, exposing who gains and who pays when trade is restricted.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Economic Sophisms is a set of short, sharp essays by the French economist and writer Frédéric Bastiat. The first series appeared in 1845 and a second followed in 1848.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Protection grew from interests, not from reason
Bastiat begins with the world he was writing in. France in the 1840s protected its iron makers, textile mills, and farmers with high duties and outright bans on foreign goods. The producers who benefited were few, organized, and close to the lawmakers. They had every reason to speak up, and they did.
Bastiat argues that this explains why bad arguments survive. The gain from a tariff is concentrated in a small group, so that group lobbies hard. The loss is spread thinly across millions of buyers, each of whom feels only a small sting and rarely connects it to a law. A false idea backed by a loud interest can outlast a true idea that nobody has a stake in repeating.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Ökonomische Sophismen
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Economic Sophisms about?
It is a set of short essays by Frédéric Bastiat that attack the arguments used to defend tariffs and trade barriers. Each essay takes one false argument and shows who really pays for it, often through humor and parable.
What does sophism mean in the title?
A sophism is an argument that sounds clever and reasonable but is false. Bastiat uses the word for the claims of protectionists, such as that scarcity makes a country richer or that imports harm workers.
What is the Petition of the Candlemakers?
It is a satirical essay in which candle and lamp makers ask lawmakers to block out the sun, their unfair rival. Bastiat uses it to show how absurd protectionist reasoning becomes when pushed to its limit.
The author
Frédéric Bastiat
1801–1850 · French economist and political writer
Frédéric Bastiat was a French economist and politician born in Bayonne in 1801. He lived in Mugron and later in Paris, and served in the French assembly from 1848. He published Economic Sophisms in 1845, and Economic Harmonies and The Law in 1850. He died in Rome in 1850.
More by Frédéric Bastiat
All 3 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
