Nature, or rather God, has bestowed upon every one of us the right to defend his person, his liberty, and his property, since these are the three con… - Frédéric Bastiat

Each of us has a natural right, from God, to defend his person, his liberty, and his property.

The law is the organization of the natural right of lawful defense; it is the substitution of collective for individual forces, for the purpose of acting in the sphere in which they have a right to act, of doing what they have a right to do, to secure persons, liberties, and properties, and to maintain each in its right, so as to cause justice to reign over all.

Para empezar, la palabra universal oculta un sofisma grosero. Hay en Francia treinta seis millones de habitantes. Para que el derecho de sufragio fuera universal, tendría que serle reconocido a treinta y seis millones de electores. En el sistema más amplio, no se le reconoce sino a nueve millones. Luego, quedan excluidas tres de cada cuatro personas, y lo que es más importante, quien excluye a los otros es la cuarta persona. ¿Sobre qué principio se funda tal exclusión?

I believe that my theory is correct; for whatever be the question upon which I am arguing, whether it be religious, philosophical, political, or economical; whether it affects well-being, morality, equality, right, justice, progress, responsibility, property, labor, exchange, capital, wages, taxes, population, credit, or Government; at whatever point of the scientific horizon I start from, I invariably come to the same thing — the solution of the social problem is in liberty.