Comments (54)

• Daniel J. D'Amico

  What color is that?

  Published: January 31, 2006 9:53 AM

• jeffrey

  It is a kind of heather blue. Think of light grey except with some blue for style and effect. It is a smart color, a workout color, that completely avoids the "baby" look we tend to associate with lighter blue hues.

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:00 AM

• homeimprovementninja

  I like the idea of a Bastiat shirt, but not that slogan. Why not his more-famous quote about free trade? "If good don't cross borders, armies will"

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:02 AM

• jeffrey

  It's a nice quote but too long. Also, it is not clear that he actually said that. No one seems to be able to locate it.
  

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:05 AM

• SteamshipTime

  Needs a better two-word quote, imo.

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:25 AM

• Tom Whiston

  A Bastiat t-shirt would be awesome! What about incorporating a quote from The Law or even the quote: "what is seen and what is unseen"??

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:46 AM

• jeffrey

  wow, you never know about these things. I would have thought "Economic Harmonies" was perfect, so evocative of the old liberal cause, so poetic an image that it is a wonder that it is not overused, a phrase that seems to capture the Bastiatian vision of a self-managing order. It is also the title of his grand treatise. Oh well!

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:49 AM

• tom whiston

  "Taxation is Plunder" or "Taxation is Stealing"?

  Published: January 31, 2006 10:55 AM

• John B

  I agree with Tom. I'd like to see a quote regarding "what is seen and what is unseen" or an allusion or outright reference to the story of the broken window fallacy. I think this would offer more of a talking point to people inquiring about the shirt and who Bastiat was.

  I wore the Hayek shirt this Sat. and the Hazlitt shirt on Sun....both were noticed, much to my surprise.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:02 AM

• jeffrey

  There might also be a longer quote on the back, as with Hazlitt. But on the front, it should be two or three words. Of course it can sum up his perspective. It doesn't have to be a quote. It could be Liberty and Property, or something. I'm not sure that "Taxation is Plunder"--as true as it is--fits with the cadre-geek spirit of the rest of the shirts.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:09 AM

• georgist

  How about "Seen and Unseen"?

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:13 AM

• Faré

  (1) THERE IS NO "K" TO "FRÉDÉRIC"!

  (2) The picture is not framed in the middle of the shirt, which is a disharmonious disbalance.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:13 AM

• The Economist

  He's a good-looking man that Bastiat. This shirt is sure to be a hit with the ladies.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:14 AM

• Chris Meisenzahl

  Nice, I'd buy one w/ a different slogan too.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:36 AM

• jeffrey

  ok, the Seen and Unseen t-shirt added, and K removed.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:36 AM

• Tom Whiston

  who said the shirts are 'geek spirited'? Austrians' (as I think the shirts ought to and do reflect) aren't geeks, we're men who stand by our own individual convictions and principals....with a keen fashion sense, How to dress like a man: http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker38.html. But maybe "Taxation is Plunder" is not what we're looking for to represent Bastiat as the proto-austrian he was. Does "Seen and Unseen" do a better job? I like it, but I'm still partial to "Taxation is Plunder" but isn't there a t-shirt that already has something close to the effect of "Taxation is Slavery"?

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:37 AM

• Chris Meisenzahl

  I like the "Seen and Unseen"! Any in kids' sizes? I'd buy two.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:38 AM

• J. H. Huebert

  My thoughts:
  
  

  1. Not sure I understand the objection to "Taxation is Plunder."
  
  

  2. "Seen and Unseen" is better than "Economic Harmonies"
  
  

  3. The design of the original Mises shirt -- with nothing but the picture and the motto -- was best. Less explanation on the shirt itself means more opportunity for conversation.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:46 AM

• Faré

  "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else."

  Ok, it's probably too long to usefully fit in the back...

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:50 AM

• Brian Drum

  Tom,

  Perhaps your are thinking of the Hayek shirt "Collectivism is Slavery"? Personally I line slogans along the line of "Taxation is Plunder", etc. I would also have to agree with Mr. Tucker that the shirts are sort of 'econ-geek' inspired. Maybe another line of t-shirts aimed more @ the agitator market could be created. That would be the perfect place for taxation is robbery, slavery, plunder, etc t-shirts.

  How about a Greenspan t-shirt w/a "Professionl Counterfeiter" slogan? Shirts in the agitator line could make generous use of words like robbery, murder, parasite, extortion etc.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:53 AM

• John Reed

  Stick with "Economic Harmonies". "Seen and Unseen" may make those who do not recognize his name think that Bastiat was a magician.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:54 AM

• jeffrey

  ok, on the "taxation is plunder" point, this does call for elaboration. Initially when these shirts came out, some people said, who can even understand these slogans? I mean, what does "Tu ne cede malis" mean? What is "Structure of Production"? "One Lesson" seems too obscure! No one could possibly want one!

  But then Roderick Long pointed out that the idea here is that the slogans should be a bit obscure, almost Gnostic in quality, so that the those in the know do know but those who are not in the know have to be told. That's what I mean by "cadre-geek": someone on the inside who has specialized knowledge of a truth that causes someone on the outside to puzzle about what it all means, and thereby ask or just think. Or if they do not ask or think, that's their loss, and at least they might be slightly conscious of their ignorance. Or you can be conscious of it. Or something like that.

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:57 AM

• J. H. Huebert

  That makes sense to me. But it's all the more reason to get rid of the name, dates, and Mises Institute stuff. Consider how intriguing this shirt would be with just the pic and "Seen and Unseen."

  Published: January 31, 2006 12:00 PM

• iceberg

  Wow, and who could have known that there is a philosophy behind t-shirt sloganeering? Only at mises.org!

  Jeff, I want this shirt yesterday! Sell it with the new Bastiat bookset! (see how consumer demand is shaped?)

  Published: January 31, 2006 12:34 PM

• Wild Pegasus

  No name. Just his picture and "What is not seen?"

  - Josh

  Published: January 31, 2006 12:59 PM

• Daniel

  What about "No Legal Plunder"?

  Published: January 31, 2006 2:00 PM

• SteamshipTime

  "Economic Harmonies." Just say it: "ee-co-nomic harr-mo-nies." Sounds like some ghey New Age psychobabble. Who the hell thought that was a good idea?

  Just kidding, jeff. You are da man. I just think it looks a little too recondite.

  "Seen and Unseen" looks like a movie title. "What Is Unseen" sounds more engaging. My $.02

  Published: January 31, 2006 2:15 PM

• Daniel

  Or, to be slightly more obscure (to Americans, at least), in French: "Absence de Spoliation"

  Published: January 31, 2006 2:18 PM

• Daniel

  Or "Try Liberty", from the end of the Law. In French: "L'épreuve la Liberté".

  Published: January 31, 2006 2:22 PM

• jeffrey

  Sometimes the most obvious (to us) is the best. How about this: Laissez faire, laissez passer

  Published: January 31, 2006 2:52 PM

• James S

  I would rather not purchase a shirt with his least profound work, namely Economic Harmonies. I'd rather a nice slogan/quote from The Law or one of the Sophisms... Thanks,

  Published: January 31, 2006 3:29 PM

• jeffrey

  The idea that Harmonies is the least profound of his works is conventional but disputed. This paper cites that book more than any other. And Huelsmann here regards it as his greatest work.

  Published: January 31, 2006 4:36 PM

• Ryan Fuller

  The K still appears on the picture of the "Economic Harmonies" shirt.

  I could go for a reference to the Petition of the Candlestick Makters. Even if it's not an actual quote, something like "Candlestick Makers Unite" would draw a lot of questions, and Bastiat's Petition is a great vehicle for explaining tariffs.

  Published: January 31, 2006 6:01 PM

• Ryan Fuller

  Typo above: "Candlestick Makters" should be "Candlestick Makers."

  Published: January 31, 2006 6:03 PM

• fancyleprachaun

  Okay, so far we have "Seen And Unseen" which makes him look like a magician.

  Then we have "Economic Harmonies" which makes him look like a composer.

  Just joshing.

  I like "Seen And Unseen" but prefer the recent idea above "Try Liberty", moreso in its french form, "L'épreuve la Liberté", and mostly just to piss off french bashers.

  Published: January 31, 2006 7:07 PM

• Michael A. Clem

  Okay, I know you want a short slogan, but there still needs to be enough to get the idea across. I like the reference to the broken window fallacy, but "Seen and Unseen" doesn't quite convey the idea. How about "The Seen and the Unseen"?

  Published: January 31, 2006 8:36 PM

• John B

  I still like "Seen and Unseen" as currently pictured. If a short blurb regarding the Broken Window Fallacy could be added to the back of the shirt, that would really be ideal. They would sell like hotcakes!!...(assuming hotcakes sell well nowadays).

  Published: January 31, 2006 9:10 PM

• Justin Ptak

  I like the idea of "Laissez faire, laissez passer," but it should wait for the Quesnay or Turgot t-shirt.

  I also like the idea of "L'épreuve la Liberté" but since there seems to be no clear majority here are a few more to consider:

  "What is Law?" or "The Broken Window," but my two favorites are "Government Is the Great Fiction" and "Let Us Now Try Liberty."

  Published: January 31, 2006 9:46 PM

• Sasha Radeta

  My suggestion:

  - La loi pervertie! (The law perverted!)

  Also, consider making a young Mises "Tu ne cede malis" red T-shirt.
  

  Published: January 31, 2006 11:30 PM

• Mark Thornton

  I like Seen and Unseen.

  There is no K in Frederic

  Published: February 1, 2006 7:25 AM

• Stephen

  How 'bout "Legal Plunder" on the front, with the definition on the back, "See if the law takes from somes persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime."

  Published: February 1, 2006 10:10 AM

• ML

  "Seen and Unseen" is fantastic. I also really like the off-center photo. Might be my favorite yet.

  Published: February 1, 2006 10:35 AM

• Yves Grassioulet

  Why not: "Work hard and die young" or "Work and shut the fuck up" or another great one based on Malthus' vision of humanity: "Born poor? Get lost!"
  
  It's short and much less cynical than "Economic harmonies"...

  Published: February 1, 2006 11:20 AM

• jeffrey

  Mr. Grassioulet doesn't work and play well with others. And I do fear that the tone and language cries out: "ban my IP!"

  Published: February 1, 2006 11:34 AM

• tom whison

  i aggree with jeffrey...Mr. Grassioulet doesn't play well with others...although (and not to encourage him) maybe a little funny

  Published: February 1, 2006 2:30 PM

• Sirc_Valence

  How about this text: "Bastiat, Freedom Inc." ???

  I think that people will remember the name that way, and then look it up, asking themselves about this "Freedom Inc." and "Bastiat."

  BTW, Jeff, I definitely like the color of the shirt and the image, and the lettering.

  Published: February 1, 2006 5:33 PM

• Petie

  Bernanke shirt(pops)

  Published: February 1, 2006 10:35 PM

• Luke Fitzhugh

  I like the pic and the words below it: "The Seen and the Unseen." This may get people to think, even subconsciously about the broken window fallacy moreso than just Seen and Unseen. "What is seen and what is unseen" are good, but longer. I would not use Economic Harmonies.

  Published: February 2, 2006 11:50 AM

• Gaurav Ahuja

  I love the Seen and the Unseen shirt. Frederic Bastiat is certainly a very handsome gentleman. It is always cool to wear shirts like this because someone may just type it in on a search engine after wondering what the heck one of these shirts means. Granted, it is unlikely, but I can see it happening. And frankly mises.org and lewrockwell.com are about the most interesting sites there are when it comes to important issues about society.

  Published: February 2, 2006 11:04 PM

• Yves Grassioulet

  You should at least all remember where your ideas and theories come from... Do you know anything about the Mont-Pelerin Society legacy? Dig out for more extreme views on humanity! Something that you will carry on with you until the real crash.
  
  As a firm believer of both collectivist and individualist values combined, it seems you're all some kind of extremists praying for an all-liberal society?!?!
  
  "ban my IP?" Oups, that's a great libertarian thought. Go on, it starts to be nasty and slippery all the way down!

  Published: February 27, 2006 4:43 AM

• Cameron Fast

  First of all, I guess I don't visit the blog enough, because I didn't see this until today. My wife and kids would like to smash my computer so I will spend time with them.

  Secondly, Mr. Grassioulet is obviously blind to his inconsistencies, and I'm an all liberal extremist.

  I love the t-shirt, and it's about time Bastiat got the recognition he deserves. I like 'The law perverted!' the best. It does the best job at provoking conversation. The perversion of the law is the simplest to explain, and the most central to his book The Law, which is his most important work.

  Now I'm probably too late anyway, considering the dates above. Oh, well.

  Published: June 6, 2006 12:20 AM

• Brett Celinski

  Raising this from the dead:

  Print this shirt now! And what others are after this?

  Published: July 28, 2006 1:49 PM

• jeffrey

  It will be available no later than 10 days from today.
  

  Published: July 28, 2006 1:58 PM

• M E Hoffer

  Which one "won" ?

  Published: July 28, 2006 3:04 PM