6 quotes for Frédéric Bastiat’s birthday by Rev. Ben Johnson • June 30, 2020 The French writer, philosopher, and exponent of liberty Frédéric Bastiat would turn 219 years old this week. For more than a century Bastiat’s concise, wisdom-infused words have led people on both sides of the Atlantic to embrace the timeless principles of limited government, freedom of commerce, and unalienable rights. Even Karl Marx begrudgingly acknowledged Bastiat as “the most adequate representative of the apologetic of vulgar economy.” Bastiat was born in France on June 30, 1801 (although some sources give June 29 as his birthday). In honor of his birthday, here are six quotations about life, liberty, property, the role of the state, and the compatibility of religion and liberty drawn from his best-known work, his 1850 pamphlet, The Law: 1. Everyone has a God-given right to life, liberty, and property:...