This cartoon was inspired by Bastiat’s essay, “Taxes,” which is contained in his larger work, “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.”

To me, Bastiat is about as poignant of a writer in the field of political and economic philosophy as one can find.  GMU economist, Bryan Caplan, recently had an exchange (1,2,3,4) with Matthew Yglesias of thinkprogress.org, in which he said:

“Bad policies often endure simply because the public has inane economic beliefs and votes accordingly.  When this is the problem, channeling Bastiat is the best remedy we’ve got.”

Amen, Mr. Caplan.  The simple truths posited by Bastiat in his refutations of common economic misunderstandings naturally lend themselves to be condensed into “cartoon form” – in my humble opinion .

Enjoy!