The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

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Chapter 39 • Vultures, Beggars, Con Men, and Kings
“Con men are the most cunning and have earned a high place in
poetry and legend. They practice deceit and cheat others with the
words they weave. Con men perform no useful service, except to
teach distrust and the art of fraud.”
Rearing up and throwing his huge wings open, the condor sighed
deeply. A faint smell of rotten meat drifted down in the morning
air.
“The lowest are royalty. Kings need not beg nor deceive; though
they often do both. Like robbers, they steal the product of others
with the brute force at their command. They produce nothing,
yet they control everything. And you, my naive traveller, revere
this ‘royalty’ while you scorn the vulture? If you saw an ancient
monument,” observed the Bard, “you would say that the king was
great because his name was inscribed at the top. Yet, you give no
thought to all the carcasses that my kind had to clean up while the
monument was being built.”
Jonathan spoke up, “True, in the past some kings were villains.
But now voters elect their leaders to a Council of Lords. They’re
different because – well, because they’re elected.”
“Elected Lords different? Ha!” cried the condor harshly.
“Children are still raised on fantasies about royalty and, when they
grow up, royalty is still what they expect. Your elected Lords are
nothing more than four-year kings and two-year princes. Indeed,
they combine beggars, con men, and royalty all rolled into one!
They beg or scheme for contributions and votes; they fl atter and
deceive at every opportunity; they prance around the island as
rulers. And, when they succeed in their exploits, those of us who
truly produce and serve get less and less.”
Jonathan fell silent. He gazed back down to the valley and
nodded his head in resignation. “I’d like to see a place where it isn’t
like that. Could there be such a place?”
Lifting his great wings, the condor sprang from the tree and
landed with a resounding thud next to Jonathan and Alisa. They
jumped back, surprised at the great size of the bird. The Bard leaned
over them, almost twice their height, with a gigantic wingspan.
“You would like to see a place where people are free? Where
force is used only for protection? You would like to visit a land