ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: Controversies on the role of colonisation: some HET lessons
Author: Zouache Abdallah
Colonisation is an issue that has been included in the current debates in growth and development economics (Acemoglu and Robinson, 2012). The general idea of this literature is to examine the impact of the colonial legacy to explain the institutional failures that block growth and development in developing countries. It is interesting to notice that this literature does not quote or even refer to the old debates on the European colonisation. This paper will propose a return to these old debates on colonisation, with a special focus on French (Enfantin, Proudhon, Leroy-Beaulieu, Juglar) and English (Bentham, Smith, Mill) economists; even if authors from other countries could be utilised in the argumentation (Engels, Commons). In particular, the paper will first question the mode of colonisation: liberalism or collectivism? What should be the role of the states? The old debates discussed the role attributed to liberty and private property in the colonisation process but also the role of property rights. The paper will then consider the role of moral arguments in the economic discourse on colonialism. Did the controversies deal with racial and cultural domination, aspects that are completely absent from the current debates? The paper will end with a comparative analysis on the concept of colonisation, asking if the old colonial controversies could shed a light on the actual conception adopted by growth and development economists.
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