The parable of the broken window was introduced by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen) to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is not actually a net benefit to society. The parable, also known as the broken window fallacy or glazier's fallacy, seeks to show how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored.
The parable
Bastiat's original parable of the broken window from Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (1850):
Now, this form of condolence contains an entire theory, which it will be well to show up in this simple case, seeing that it is precisely the same as that which, unhappily, regulates the greater part of our economical institutions.
Suppose it cost six francs to repair the damage, and you say that the accident brings six francs to the glazier's trade – that it encourages that trade to the amount of six francs – I grant it; I have not a word to say against it; you reason justly. The glazier comes, performs his task, receives his six francs, rubs his hands, and, in his heart, blesses the careless child. All this is that which is seen.
Broken window fallacy, economic theory illustrating why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is not actually a net benefit to society
Broken windows theory, criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior
"Broken Windows", 1982 magazine article by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling that originated the broken windows theory
Fixing Broken Windows, 1996 book by George L. Kelling and Catherine Coles that further popularized the broken windows theory
"Broken Windows", 1982 magazine article by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling that originated the broken windows theory
Fixing Broken Windows, 1996 book by George L. Kelling and Catherine Coles that further popularized the broken windows theory
"Keep the Car Running" is a song by Canadianindie rock band Arcade Fire. It is the second single released from the band's second album, Neon Bible in the UK (while "Black Mirror" is the first in the US). This song was #22 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 61 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The single was released on 19 March 2007, on 7" vinyl with the B-side, "Broken Window", in the UK under Rough Trade Records. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 56. The single was released in the US on 8 May 2007, under Merge Records. It is alternatively titled "Keep the Car Running/Broken Window". It peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.
In the book, a killer has access to the world's greatest data miner called Strategic Systems Datacorp. He is using detailed information to commit crimes and blame them on innocents. Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs, and characters from the previous books, team up to stop the criminal.
Reception
Publishers Weekly reviewed the book saying "The topical subject matter makes the story line particularly compelling, while longtime fans will relish Deaver's intimate exploration of a tragedy from Rhyme's adolescence."
Entertainment Weekly reviewed the book saying "Quadriplegic forensics whiz Lincoln Rhyme and his Glock-toting girlfriend, Amelia Sachs, track a serial killer who uses an all-knowing computer database to frame fall guys. Movie Pitch: Ironside meets CSI and Enemy of the State. Bottom Line: Rhyme still intrigues in his eighth outing, while Deaver's scarily believable depiction of identity theft in a total-surveillance society stokes our paranoia. A -."
Some people argue that natural disasters and other acts of destruction create wealth and employment as we repair the damage they’ve caused. Professor Dan Russell explains that this fallacy fails to take into “opportunity costs” into consideration. Whenever we use a resource for one purpose, like fixing a window, we give up the opportunity to use that resource for another purpose. We only know if the use of a resource has created value if we compare it with the the alternate uses we had to forego. forego.
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dUx6wg
LEARN MORE:
The Broken Window Fallacy (video): Art Carden explains the broken window fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls
Louisiana Floods Reveal Age Old Broken Window Fallacy (blog article): Don Boudreaux explains how many fell for ...
published: 17 Nov 2016
Alphabet of Classical Liberalism: 8. Parable of the broken window
Today I'd like to tell you something about what is and what is not visible. Do not worry. We will not talk about apparition, ghosts or the elixir of invisibility. We will talk about economic laws. They have their visible and invisible sides. And this can be shown quite nicely in the so-called “Parable of the broken window”.
published: 28 Jul 2021
The Broken Window Fallacy
Does destruction create jobs? After natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars, some people argue that these disasters are good for the economy, because they create jobs and prosperity. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
As Prof. Art Carden of Rhodes College explains, this is an example of the "broken window fallacy," a term coined by Frederic Bastiat. When a shopkeeper's window is broken, he will spend money on a new window, which gives income and jobs for glaziers. This activity is "seen," but the "unseen" is just as important: the money spend on a new window could have been spent on other things. Wealth has not increase, but only reallocated from some people to others, and society is worse off by one window.
SUBSCRIBE:
http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
FOLLOW US:
- Website: https://www.lea...
published: 23 Jun 2011
The Lesson of the Broken Window
In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote about what is known as the parable of the broken window. In his 1946 masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt borrows from Bastiat to open his book with the lesson of the broken window. The lesson teaches us two mistakes people are prone to make when thinking about economics:
1. Not considering all the parties involved
2. Thinking about only what we can see and not about what we cannot see
For more, visit https://christianstatesman.com/2019/08/15/the-broken-window/
published: 15 Aug 2019
The Broken Window Fallacy, Explained
published: 06 Jun 2023
The Broken Window
Is destruction really good for the economy, as many economists and pundits claim? Here is what the One Lesson tells us about Frederic Bastiat's Broken Window parable.
The analysis in this video is relevant to natural disasters and car scrappage schemes, as well as vandalism.
published: 23 Oct 2019
The Parable of the Broken Window by Jamie Edwards
This is an overview of Fred Bastiat's broken window fallacy/parable for my 2014 Microeconomics class.
Audacity wouldn't record the audio from the video clip for me, so I had to use the raw audio from the presentation which caused a bit of audio derpiness.
published: 11 May 2014
Broken Window
Through the Parable of the Broken Window, Bastiat introduces the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.
The parable describes a shopkeeper's son accidentally breaking his father's window. The spectators at the scene thought this was a good thing, as the glazier now had work. However, Bastiat says that "this theory is confined to what is seen; it does not take into account what is unseen".
What is not seen is that the money, now spent on repairing the destruction, could otherwise have been used productively by the shopkeeper, say, to replace his shoes or to buy a book.
This talk by John Stossel was one of the first given by Students For Liberty. And what remains is the question: are you actually seeing reality and what needs to be done? Or are you being influenced?
Some people argue that natural disasters and other acts of destruction create wealth and employment as we repair the damage they’ve caused. Professor Dan Russe...
Some people argue that natural disasters and other acts of destruction create wealth and employment as we repair the damage they’ve caused. Professor Dan Russell explains that this fallacy fails to take into “opportunity costs” into consideration. Whenever we use a resource for one purpose, like fixing a window, we give up the opportunity to use that resource for another purpose. We only know if the use of a resource has created value if we compare it with the the alternate uses we had to forego. forego.
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dUx6wg
LEARN MORE:
The Broken Window Fallacy (video): Art Carden explains the broken window fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls
Louisiana Floods Reveal Age Old Broken Window Fallacy (blog article): Don Boudreaux explains how many fell for the broken window fallacy in response to the recent flooding in Louisiana http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/louisiana-floods-reveal-age-old-broken-window-fallacy/
How a 19th century French pamphleteer preempted two centuries of economic fallacies (blog article): Christopher Todd Meredith explains Frederic Bastiat’s contributions to economics and political science, including the broken window fallacy http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/how-a-19th-century-french-pamphleteer-preempted-two-centuries-of-economic-fallacies/
TRANSCRIPT: The full transcript can be found at http://www.learnliberty.org/?p=8503
Some people argue that natural disasters and other acts of destruction create wealth and employment as we repair the damage they’ve caused. Professor Dan Russell explains that this fallacy fails to take into “opportunity costs” into consideration. Whenever we use a resource for one purpose, like fixing a window, we give up the opportunity to use that resource for another purpose. We only know if the use of a resource has created value if we compare it with the the alternate uses we had to forego. forego.
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dUx6wg
LEARN MORE:
The Broken Window Fallacy (video): Art Carden explains the broken window fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls
Louisiana Floods Reveal Age Old Broken Window Fallacy (blog article): Don Boudreaux explains how many fell for the broken window fallacy in response to the recent flooding in Louisiana http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/louisiana-floods-reveal-age-old-broken-window-fallacy/
How a 19th century French pamphleteer preempted two centuries of economic fallacies (blog article): Christopher Todd Meredith explains Frederic Bastiat’s contributions to economics and political science, including the broken window fallacy http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/how-a-19th-century-french-pamphleteer-preempted-two-centuries-of-economic-fallacies/
TRANSCRIPT: The full transcript can be found at http://www.learnliberty.org/?p=8503
Today I'd like to tell you something about what is and what is not visible. Do not worry. We will not talk about apparition, ghosts or the elixir of invisibilit...
Today I'd like to tell you something about what is and what is not visible. Do not worry. We will not talk about apparition, ghosts or the elixir of invisibility. We will talk about economic laws. They have their visible and invisible sides. And this can be shown quite nicely in the so-called “Parable of the broken window”.
Today I'd like to tell you something about what is and what is not visible. Do not worry. We will not talk about apparition, ghosts or the elixir of invisibility. We will talk about economic laws. They have their visible and invisible sides. And this can be shown quite nicely in the so-called “Parable of the broken window”.
Does destruction create jobs? After natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars, some people argue that these disasters are good for the economy, because the...
Does destruction create jobs? After natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars, some people argue that these disasters are good for the economy, because they create jobs and prosperity. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
As Prof. Art Carden of Rhodes College explains, this is an example of the "broken window fallacy," a term coined by Frederic Bastiat. When a shopkeeper's window is broken, he will spend money on a new window, which gives income and jobs for glaziers. This activity is "seen," but the "unseen" is just as important: the money spend on a new window could have been spent on other things. Wealth has not increase, but only reallocated from some people to others, and society is worse off by one window.
SUBSCRIBE:
http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
FOLLOW US:
- Website: https://www.learnliberty.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnLiberty
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnLiberty
- Google +: http://bit.ly/1hi66Zz
LEARN LIBERTY
Your resource for exploring the ideas of a free society. We tackle big questions about what makes a society free or prosperous and how we can improve the world we live in. Watch more at http://bit.ly/1UleLbP
Does destruction create jobs? After natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars, some people argue that these disasters are good for the economy, because they create jobs and prosperity. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
As Prof. Art Carden of Rhodes College explains, this is an example of the "broken window fallacy," a term coined by Frederic Bastiat. When a shopkeeper's window is broken, he will spend money on a new window, which gives income and jobs for glaziers. This activity is "seen," but the "unseen" is just as important: the money spend on a new window could have been spent on other things. Wealth has not increase, but only reallocated from some people to others, and society is worse off by one window.
SUBSCRIBE:
http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
FOLLOW US:
- Website: https://www.learnliberty.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnLiberty
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnLiberty
- Google +: http://bit.ly/1hi66Zz
LEARN LIBERTY
Your resource for exploring the ideas of a free society. We tackle big questions about what makes a society free or prosperous and how we can improve the world we live in. Watch more at http://bit.ly/1UleLbP
In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote about what is known as the parable of the broken window. In his 1946 masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, Henr...
In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote about what is known as the parable of the broken window. In his 1946 masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt borrows from Bastiat to open his book with the lesson of the broken window. The lesson teaches us two mistakes people are prone to make when thinking about economics:
1. Not considering all the parties involved
2. Thinking about only what we can see and not about what we cannot see
For more, visit https://christianstatesman.com/2019/08/15/the-broken-window/
In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote about what is known as the parable of the broken window. In his 1946 masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt borrows from Bastiat to open his book with the lesson of the broken window. The lesson teaches us two mistakes people are prone to make when thinking about economics:
1. Not considering all the parties involved
2. Thinking about only what we can see and not about what we cannot see
For more, visit https://christianstatesman.com/2019/08/15/the-broken-window/
Is destruction really good for the economy, as many economists and pundits claim? Here is what the One Lesson tells us about Frederic Bastiat's Broken Window p...
Is destruction really good for the economy, as many economists and pundits claim? Here is what the One Lesson tells us about Frederic Bastiat's Broken Window parable.
The analysis in this video is relevant to natural disasters and car scrappage schemes, as well as vandalism.
Is destruction really good for the economy, as many economists and pundits claim? Here is what the One Lesson tells us about Frederic Bastiat's Broken Window parable.
The analysis in this video is relevant to natural disasters and car scrappage schemes, as well as vandalism.
This is an overview of Fred Bastiat's broken window fallacy/parable for my 2014 Microeconomics class.
Audacity wouldn't record the audio from the video clip for...
This is an overview of Fred Bastiat's broken window fallacy/parable for my 2014 Microeconomics class.
Audacity wouldn't record the audio from the video clip for me, so I had to use the raw audio from the presentation which caused a bit of audio derpiness.
This is an overview of Fred Bastiat's broken window fallacy/parable for my 2014 Microeconomics class.
Audacity wouldn't record the audio from the video clip for me, so I had to use the raw audio from the presentation which caused a bit of audio derpiness.
Through the Parable of the Broken Window, Bastiat introduces the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.
The parable describes a shopkeeper's son accidentally br...
Through the Parable of the Broken Window, Bastiat introduces the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.
The parable describes a shopkeeper's son accidentally breaking his father's window. The spectators at the scene thought this was a good thing, as the glazier now had work. However, Bastiat says that "this theory is confined to what is seen; it does not take into account what is unseen".
What is not seen is that the money, now spent on repairing the destruction, could otherwise have been used productively by the shopkeeper, say, to replace his shoes or to buy a book.
This talk by John Stossel was one of the first given by Students For Liberty. And what remains is the question: are you actually seeing reality and what needs to be done? Or are you being influenced?
Through the Parable of the Broken Window, Bastiat introduces the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.
The parable describes a shopkeeper's son accidentally breaking his father's window. The spectators at the scene thought this was a good thing, as the glazier now had work. However, Bastiat says that "this theory is confined to what is seen; it does not take into account what is unseen".
What is not seen is that the money, now spent on repairing the destruction, could otherwise have been used productively by the shopkeeper, say, to replace his shoes or to buy a book.
This talk by John Stossel was one of the first given by Students For Liberty. And what remains is the question: are you actually seeing reality and what needs to be done? Or are you being influenced?
Some people argue that natural disasters and other acts of destruction create wealth and employment as we repair the damage they’ve caused. Professor Dan Russell explains that this fallacy fails to take into “opportunity costs” into consideration. Whenever we use a resource for one purpose, like fixing a window, we give up the opportunity to use that resource for another purpose. We only know if the use of a resource has created value if we compare it with the the alternate uses we had to forego. forego.
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2dUx6wg
LEARN MORE:
The Broken Window Fallacy (video): Art Carden explains the broken window fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls
Louisiana Floods Reveal Age Old Broken Window Fallacy (blog article): Don Boudreaux explains how many fell for the broken window fallacy in response to the recent flooding in Louisiana http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/louisiana-floods-reveal-age-old-broken-window-fallacy/
How a 19th century French pamphleteer preempted two centuries of economic fallacies (blog article): Christopher Todd Meredith explains Frederic Bastiat’s contributions to economics and political science, including the broken window fallacy http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/how-a-19th-century-french-pamphleteer-preempted-two-centuries-of-economic-fallacies/
TRANSCRIPT: The full transcript can be found at http://www.learnliberty.org/?p=8503
Today I'd like to tell you something about what is and what is not visible. Do not worry. We will not talk about apparition, ghosts or the elixir of invisibility. We will talk about economic laws. They have their visible and invisible sides. And this can be shown quite nicely in the so-called “Parable of the broken window”.
Does destruction create jobs? After natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars, some people argue that these disasters are good for the economy, because they create jobs and prosperity. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
As Prof. Art Carden of Rhodes College explains, this is an example of the "broken window fallacy," a term coined by Frederic Bastiat. When a shopkeeper's window is broken, he will spend money on a new window, which gives income and jobs for glaziers. This activity is "seen," but the "unseen" is just as important: the money spend on a new window could have been spent on other things. Wealth has not increase, but only reallocated from some people to others, and society is worse off by one window.
SUBSCRIBE:
http://bit.ly/1HVAtKP
FOLLOW US:
- Website: https://www.learnliberty.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnLiberty
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearnLiberty
- Google +: http://bit.ly/1hi66Zz
LEARN LIBERTY
Your resource for exploring the ideas of a free society. We tackle big questions about what makes a society free or prosperous and how we can improve the world we live in. Watch more at http://bit.ly/1UleLbP
In 1850, French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote about what is known as the parable of the broken window. In his 1946 masterpiece, Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt borrows from Bastiat to open his book with the lesson of the broken window. The lesson teaches us two mistakes people are prone to make when thinking about economics:
1. Not considering all the parties involved
2. Thinking about only what we can see and not about what we cannot see
For more, visit https://christianstatesman.com/2019/08/15/the-broken-window/
Is destruction really good for the economy, as many economists and pundits claim? Here is what the One Lesson tells us about Frederic Bastiat's Broken Window parable.
The analysis in this video is relevant to natural disasters and car scrappage schemes, as well as vandalism.
This is an overview of Fred Bastiat's broken window fallacy/parable for my 2014 Microeconomics class.
Audacity wouldn't record the audio from the video clip for me, so I had to use the raw audio from the presentation which caused a bit of audio derpiness.
Through the Parable of the Broken Window, Bastiat introduces the economic concept of Opportunity Cost.
The parable describes a shopkeeper's son accidentally breaking his father's window. The spectators at the scene thought this was a good thing, as the glazier now had work. However, Bastiat says that "this theory is confined to what is seen; it does not take into account what is unseen".
What is not seen is that the money, now spent on repairing the destruction, could otherwise have been used productively by the shopkeeper, say, to replace his shoes or to buy a book.
This talk by John Stossel was one of the first given by Students For Liberty. And what remains is the question: are you actually seeing reality and what needs to be done? Or are you being influenced?
The parable of the broken window was introduced by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen) to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is not actually a net benefit to society. The parable, also known as the broken window fallacy or glazier's fallacy, seeks to show how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored.
The parable
Bastiat's original parable of the broken window from Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (1850):
Now, this form of condolence contains an entire theory, which it will be well to show up in this simple case, seeing that it is precisely the same as that which, unhappily, regulates the greater part of our economical institutions.
Suppose it cost six francs to repair the damage, and you say that the accident brings six francs to the glazier's trade – that it encourages that trade to the amount of six francs – I grant it; I have not a word to say against it; you reason justly. The glazier comes, performs his task, receives his six francs, rubs his hands, and, in his heart, blesses the careless child. All this is that which is seen.
Deep in the past, far in the future time Deep in the past, far in the future time Just 'cause no one saw you, that don't mean it ain't a crime They say they know me but they only know my name They say they know me but they only know my name They're through asking me questions, I ain't gonna learn to sing If they want it they can take it, they don't need no reason why If they want it they can take it, they don't need no reason why The night they took you from me I saw the broken window and I cried They bound my eyes and they bound my hands They bound my eyes and they bound my hands Where they're gonna take me now? No one understands They say they know me but they only know my name They say they know me but they only know my name They're through asking me questions, I ain't gonna learn to sing Lay their hands upon me now, it's midnight blue Lay the hands upon me now, it's midnight blue They didn't know me and they didn't know you, no, no Now reduced to hide in the dark when they came for you I gained the world but I lost your trust I gained the world but I lost your trust they throw their money at you, it ain't easy to adjust Come out, and put your hands on your head I said come out, and put your hands on your head Come and join the rest of us, we are already dead If they want it they can take it, they don't need no reason why If they want it they can take it, they don't need no reason why The night they took you from me I saw the broken window and I cried Woe unto them if they touch a hair on your head Woe unto them if they touch a hair on your head You're gonna join the rest of us, we are already dead They won the battle, but the war is through They won the battle, but the war is through They didn't know me and they didn't know you, no, no