--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes the law defends plunder and…" description: "\"“Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Thus the beneficiaries are spared the shame and danger that their acts would otherwise invol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/frederic-bastiat-2151_legal-plunder_sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-pa_857432.jpg" --- # Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it… ![“Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Thus the beneficiaries are spared the shame and danger that their acts would otherwise involve… But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to the…” quote by Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/frederic-bastiat-2151_legal-plunder_sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-pa_857432.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/frederic-bastiat-2151_legal-plunder_sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-pa_857432.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/frederic-bastiat-2151_legal-plunder_sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-pa_857432.jpg) > ““Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Thus the beneficiaries are spared the shame and danger that their acts would otherwise involve… But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to the other persons to whom it doesn’t belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. Then abolish that law without delay - No legal plunder; this is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, harmony and logic.”” [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal plunder occurs when law benefits one group by taking from another, violating justice and harmony. **In simple terms:** Unfair laws take from some and give to others illegally. Key Takeaway Identify and repeal unjust laws. Themes justice law inequality economics politics Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - legal analysis - activism - public debate - civil rights Key Concepts property rights state power distribution fairness Questions to Reflect On - What laws in your society could be considered legal plunder? - How can citizens effectively challenge such laws? A Different Perspective Legal definitions can be ambiguous, making enforcement difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defends Plunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defends-plunder-417614/) [Law Defends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-defends-417616/) [Legal Plunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legal-plunder-302968/) [Plunder Identified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plunder-identified-814220/) [Plunder Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plunder-principle-814219/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [No legal plunder: This is the principle of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/no-legal-plunder-this-is-the-principle-of-justice/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-bastiat/but-how-is-this-legal-plunder-to-be-identified-quite-simply-see-if-2/) [Frederick Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-bastiat/) > [No legal plunder: This is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, harmony, and logic. Until the day of my death, I shall proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/no-legal-plunder-this-is-the-principle-of-justice-peace-order/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/but-how-is-this-legal-plunder-to-be-identified-quite-simply-see-if/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Legal plunder has two roots: one of them, as we have already seen, is in human egotism; the other is in false philanthropy. Before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-has-two-roots-one-of-them-as-we-have-already-seen-is-in/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“The person who profits from this law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights . He will claim that the state is obligated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-person-who-profits-from-this-law-will-complain-bitterly-defending/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [This question of legal plunder must be settled once and for all, and there are only three ways to settle it: (1) The few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/this-question-of-legal-plunder-must-be-settled-once-and-for-all-and/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/now-legal-plunder-can-be-committed-in-an-infinite-number-of-ways-thus/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Legal plunder has two roots: One, as we have just seen, is in human selfishness; the other is in false philanthropy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-has-two-roots-one-as-we-have-just-seen-is-in-human/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [If government goes beyond securing liberty and instead violates it through regulation, redistribution, and planning, then citizens are victims of legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/if-government-goes-beyond-securing-liberty-and-instead-violates-it/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [The law commit legal plunder by violating liberty and property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-commit-legal-plunder-by-violating-liberty-and-property/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways; hence, there are an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-can-be-committed-in-an-infinite-number-of-ways-hence/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## More by Frédéric Bastiat > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [If every person has the right to defend - even by force - his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/if-every-person-has-the-right-to-defend-even-by-force-his-person-his/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Slavery, protection, and monopoly find defenders, not only in those who profit by them, but in those who suffer by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/slavery-protection-and-monopoly-find-defenders-not-only-in-those-who/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Often the masses are plundered and do not know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/often-the-masses-are-plundered-and-do-not-know-it/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-state-is-the-great-fictitious-entity-by-which-everyone-seeks-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [There is in all of a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-is-in-all-of-a-strong-disposition-to-believe-that-anything/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I believe that my theory is correct; for whatever be the question upon which I am arguing, whether it be religious, philosophical, political, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/i-believe-that-my-theory-is-correct-for-whatever-be-the-question-upon/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The balance of trade is an article of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-balance-of-trade-is-an-article-of-faith/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [There are people who think that plunder loses all its immorality as soon as it becomes legal. Personally, I cannot imagine a more alarming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-are-people-who-think-that-plunder-loses-all-its-immorality-as/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“And now, after having vainly inflicted upon the social body so many systems, let them end where they ought to have begun—reject all systems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/and-now-after-having-vainly-inflicted-upon-the-social-body-so-many/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [When misguided public opinion honors what is despicable and despises what is honorable, punishes virtue and rewards vice, encourages what is harmful and discourages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/when-misguided-public-opinion-honors-what-is-despicable-and-despises/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [There is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: the bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-is-only-one-difference-between-a-bad-economist-and-a-good-one/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) [Explore all 182 Frédéric Bastiat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## More Legal Plunder quotes > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [If government goes beyond securing liberty and instead violates it through regulation, redistribution, and planning, then citizens are victims of legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ebeling/if-government-goes-beyond-securing-liberty-and-instead-violates-it/) [Richard Ebeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ebeling/) > [Legal plunder has two roots: One, as we have just seen, is in human selfishness; the other is in false philanthropy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-has-two-roots-one-as-we-have-just-seen-is-in-human/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/now-legal-plunder-can-be-committed-in-an-infinite-number-of-ways-thus/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Legal plunder has two roots: one of them, as we have already seen, is in human egotism; the other is in false philanthropy. Before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-has-two-roots-one-of-them-as-we-have-already-seen-is-in/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [This question of legal plunder must be settled once and for all, and there are only three ways to settle it: (1) The few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/this-question-of-legal-plunder-must-be-settled-once-and-for-all-and/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/but-how-is-this-legal-plunder-to-be-identified-quite-simply-see-if/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [No legal plunder: This is the principle of justice, peace, order, stability, harmony, and logic. Until the day of my death, I shall proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/no-legal-plunder-this-is-the-principle-of-justice-peace-order/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-bastiat/but-how-is-this-legal-plunder-to-be-identified-quite-simply-see-if-2/) [Frederick Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-bastiat/) > [The law commit legal plunder by violating liberty and property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-commit-legal-plunder-by-violating-liberty-and-property/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways; hence, there are an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/legal-plunder-can-be-committed-in-an-infinite-number-of-ways-hence/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“The person who profits from this law will complain bitterly, defending his acquired rights . 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