Free Markets Free Men: Frederic Bastiat, 1801-1850

When following the ideas of Frederic Bastiat, the reader often wishes to know a bit more about the man himself. This applies to many thinkers of consequence–we find their ideas so interesting that we think their lives must be equally exciting and significant. Bastiat, however, has remained a shadowy entity, even to his few biographers. The same scant details of the man’s personal life appear in each of the several sketches devoted to his career.