Quote by Fr, Essays on Political Economy
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
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Summary
This quote, often attributed to French economist Frederic Bastiat, suggests that government is a construct that allows people to benefit from the resources and efforts of others. In this view, individuals seek to use government as a means to secure advantages and privileges for themselves, shifting the burden of cost and responsibility onto others. It implies a perspective that government can be seen as a self-interested entity rather than a neutral instrument of public service, pointing to the potential risk of excessive reliance on and exploitation of government to gain personal advantages.