The Law, by Frederic Bastiat

Frederic Bastiat's The Law, first published in 1850, should be on the required reading list of all lawmakers and bureaucrats in the federal government.  It's a short read, not much longer than an in-depth magazine article.  But it packs a real punch in its criticism of the expansion of government power. 

Central to Bastiat's argument is a criticism of "legal plunder."  How do we recognize legal plunder?  "See if the law takes from some 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."

The whole idea of socialism is based on these premises: "the total inertness of mankind, the omnipotence of the law, and the infallibility of the legislature."  If these premises are true, socialism might be viable.  But none of the three are true, thus socialism is inevitably disastrous.  Socialists' rejection of free choice and reliance on legislative lead down the road to communism.

The Law alone may not be enough to convince a socialist-leaning politician to change her ways, but there is enough material in this short book to provide a critic of socialism with lots of ammunition.  There are plenty of inexpensive editions.  Buy them in bulk and pass them around to your favorite policy maker or politician.