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 Unseen) to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is actually not a net-benefit to society. The parable, also known as the broken window fallacy or glazier's fallacy, demonstrates how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored.
Read more about Parable Of The Broken Window: The Parable, Differing Interpretations, Criticisms
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“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 22:14.
In the parable of the marriage of the king’s son.
“I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
—Bible: New Testament Luke, 16:3.
The unjust steward in the Parable of the Unjust Steward.
“For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 25:29.
In the parable of the talents.
“The talk not of Inconstancy,
False Hearts, and broken Vows;
If I, by Miracle, can be
This live-long Minute true to thee,
‘Tis all that Heav’n allows.”
—John Wilmot, 2d Earl Of Rochester (1647–1680)
“When we locked up the house at night,
We always locked the flowers outside
And cut them off from window light.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)