The Bastiat Society Blog

There is a lot of good information here, but don't look for treatment of Bastiat's personal economic theories and their relevance to today. The use of Bastiat's name seems to act more as an anchor for selecting reflections by more modern heroes.

But there is good stuff to be found in the Bastiat Society Blog. They do have a link to the collection of translations of Bastiat. Here also is a cut from a recent post

In the long centuries of the Islamic Golden Age, from the middle of the 8th century AD to the middle of the 13th, the Arab-speaking Muslim world presided over the greatest commercial civilization on earth. It offered the most tolerant government policies to people of other faiths, including Jews and Christians. Indeed, if Arabic civilization had not done such a good job preserving and expanding the realm of human knowledge, Europe might never have had its Renaissance.

One of the great puzzles of the modern world is how a civilization could go from being so wealthy, enlightened, and tolerant to one that is known for its violence, anti-intellectualism, and blind hatred. There may even be lessons here for the West, which views its commercial and moral achievements as unassailable.

I have heard others compare some current Islamic actions as similar in tone to the crusades. Allowing for the later creation of Islam than Christianity these actions would even have similar time lines.

There is no resemblance to foundational Islam or Christianity in that small minority that use religious violence as an emotional lever to create their own power base.

See how nicely that worked? The input of ideas from the Bastiat Society Blog started my own thought processes rolling. Go read a few of their posts, listen to a few of their videos, and see how they might inspire you.

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