Breaking The Broken Window By Bastiat Analysis

Within the realm of economy, every action causes a chain of reactions. Some of these actions are noticeable to the ordinary person, while others are hidden and can only be revealed by looking at the future consequences rather than the present ones. Bastiat compares the good and bad economist. The bad economist is one who only views actions based on their visible effect. The good economist takes into account the consequent repercussions of the actions, as well as the events that take place later on. When enjoying the fruits of labor, it is vital to keep in mind the actions that will follow in order to ensure that our labors will not be counter-intuitive. Unfortunately, society, as a whole, has taken to the idea of doing that which may seem profitable
He explains that a little action such as a child breaking a window can have an impact on three people: the father who has to pay for the window, the glazier who repairs the window, and the shoemaker who would have possibly received the money if the window has not been broken. James B, the father of the careless child, has now arrived back at the same state he was in before the window broke. He warns that one who only looks at the visible effects could come to the conclusion that breaking windows could be good for the economy, because it helps spread wealth around, however, “society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed” (p
Machines, although a recent innovation, has taken the world by storm. He warns that cursing machinery is like cursing man, because God gave man the right to think and invent. Man, worried about machinery taking over jobs, move in search of new work. Bastiat addresses the fallacy that machinery hinders the working man. Although, machinery does in fact cause less hands to be needed, it also is vital in creating product that was impossible beforehand. Although the loss of work is that which is seen, what is not seen is the amount of money that machinery supplies wages for the remaining worker, as well as the worker who is paid from the money saved. He finishes this section by addressing briefly the topic of credit and how it was made to extend wealth. The capital that is borrowed will always outweigh that which is actually available. Bastiat advises that if there should be any obstacle to the diffusion of credit, it should be gotten rid