The plot is simple enough. A colony of ants collects a yearly offering of food for roving grasshoppers, under the threat of violence should the offering stop. An oddball ant, Flik, accidentally knocks the offering over, but is later ultimately successful in stopping the grasshopper oppression.
According to Franz Oppenheimer (echoing Bastiat) in The State, there are two fundamental ways for man to meet his ends. The choice is between work, and robbery. Early human history was marked by two distinct types of societies: sedentary farmers, and roving herdsmen. The state originates when the herdsmen, realizing their superior military prowess, extort the farmers for food and tribute rather than working for it.
This conception has parallels to A Bug's Life. The peaceful ants are sedentary farmers, and harvest the fruit and grain on their island, as they have since the formation of their colony. At some point, the grasshoppers (herdsmen) instituted the annual offering, opting to extort food rather than work for it. The ants, for the most part, have grown to accept their lot in life as the nature of the world.
Oppenheimer's portrayal of history can easily be extended to modern times. The state uses taxation (under the constant threat of violence) to fund its projects, while the taxpayers, who have no monopoly on legal force, work to meet their ends.
This conception has parallels to A Bug's Life. The peaceful ants are sedentary farmers, and harvest the fruit and grain on their island, as they have since the formation of their colony. At some point, the grasshoppers (herdsmen) instituted the annual offering, opting to extort food rather than work for it. The ants, for the most part, have grown to accept their lot in life as the nature of the world.
Oppenheimer's portrayal of history can easily be extended to modern times. The state uses taxation (under the constant threat of violence) to fund its projects, while the taxpayers, who have no monopoly on legal force, work to meet their ends.
The protagonist of A Bug's Life, Flik, is an oddball and something of an outcast. Early on, he is mocked and discouraged from using his new inventions to harvest the grain on the island, rather than doing it by hand. After inadvertently ruining the offering, he sets out on a quest to find "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers when they return.
Sedentary farmers will try to fight back, using their own armies, but are generally less adept at the harshness of war than the herdsmen. Recruiting mercenaries to fight on their behalf seems a logical step, but it invites the risk that they will simply do the same as the marauders.
Sedentary farmers will try to fight back, using their own armies, but are generally less adept at the harshness of war than the herdsmen. Recruiting mercenaries to fight on their behalf seems a logical step, but it invites the risk that they will simply do the same as the marauders.
Ultimately, Flik (and the circus troupe he recruited in lieu of "warrior bugs") convinces the colony to fight back through deceit, rather than outright war. Constructing a fake bird, the bane of all bugs, they plan to scare off the grasshoppers when they return. Though this plan is ultimately unsuccessful, the ants eventually unite to drive off the invaders forever.
The movie also addresses the importance of individualism, though seemingly glorifying the collective of the colony. Ultimately, the ants never would have driven off the grasshoppers without the leadership of Flik. Daring to stand up to the grasshoppers (even if he's alone), he inspires other individual ants to rise up and join him.
Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, argues that as soon as one ant stands up to their violent system, they all might. Though A Bug's Life has some praise for the collective (all the ants in the colony standing together to fight off the grasshoppers), Hopper recognizes they would do so if one individual ant chose to act.
Additionally, Flik's harvester invention represents technological innovation and capital investment, which ultimately makes the ant colony better off. By the end of the film, the ants have adopted his harvesting machine, which leads to specialization of labor and ultimately makes the colony more prosperous.
A Bug's Life addresses several crucial political and economic concepts, such as the origin of the state, individualism, the inherent theft in taxation, and more. There are few films, let alone ones aimed at children, that so clearly and concisely illustrate these ideas.
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