This article investigates Bastiat's criticism of Proudhon's proposal to abolish interest by establishing the Bank of the People. The controversy between the two authors is examined in the light of the peculiarities of the economic theory developed by Bastiat, which include elements extracted from the works of Jean-Baptiste Say, Destutt de Tracy, and Charles Comte. We will argue that the merit and limitations of Bastiat's arguments in the debate reflect the tension between the subjective and objective elements present in his theory.