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{{wikipedia text|Candlemakers' petition|439352154}}
{{wikisource|Candlemakers' Petition|Candlemakers' petition}}

The '''Candlemakers' petition''' is a well known [[satire]] of [[protectionism]] written and published in 1845 by the [[France|French]] economist [[Frédéric Bastiat]] as part of his ''[[Economic Sophisms]]''.  In the Candlemakers' petition, the [[candle]]makers and industrialists from other parts of the lighting industry petition the [[Chamber of Deputies of France|Chamber of Deputies]] of the French [[July Monarchy]] (1830–1848) to protect their trade from the unfair competition of a foreign power: the [[Sun]].

In their petition, the candlemakers cite several economic 'advantages' that might be had from blocking out the Sun, by increasing consumption of products: tallow, leading to the increased production of meat, wool, hides, etc.; vegetable oil, leading to the increased production of poppies, olives, and rapeseed; resinous trees, leading to more bees, hence crop pollination; whale oil, leading to a larger [[merchant navy]] that would boost France's prestige and standing.

The candlemakers also cite the same example that Bastiat does at other points in ''Economic Sophisms'': that of similar oranges grown in [[Paris]] and [[Lisbon]].

==See also==
* ''[[The Bastiat Collection]]''
* "[[The Law]]"
* "[[That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen]]"
** [[Parable of the broken window]]

==Links==
{{store|http://mises.org/store/Bastiat-Collection-Pocket-Edition-P10458.aspx|The Bastiat Collection (Pocket Edition)}}
* Full text
** English translation ([http://mises.org/daily/3831 Mises Daily])([http://bastiat.org/en/petition.html HTML])
** Original French ([http://bastiat.org/fr/petition.html HTML])
** Spanish translation ([http://www.hacer.org/pdf/Peticion.pdf PDF])
* The [http://www.freeaudio.org/fbastiat/candlemakerspetition.html Candlemaker's Petition Audio Book] (free download) at FreeAudio.org

* {{wplink}}

[[Category:Economics articles]]
[[Category:Writings of Frédéric Bastiat]]