ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: The reception of the German Historical Schools among French economists (1857-1900)
Author: Potier Jean-Pierre
Among historians of economic thought, general consensus is that during the second half of the 19th century, the German Historical School of Economics had virtually no influence in France, with French economists being either completely indifferent or very hostile towards it. According to Joseph Schumpeter: “Although some leaders […] did some or most of their work in the field of economic history, it would hardly occur to anyone to speak of an Italian historical school in the sense of a distinct scientific party. The same holds true for France […]. Some economists did historical work. I shall mention only Levasseur” [1954, p. 820]. Charles Rist, who was in charge of writing the chapter devoted to “L’Ecole historique et la querelle des méthodes” in Histoire des doctrines économiques depuis les physiocrates jusqu’à nos jours (1st ed., 1909) - a book collaboratively prepared with Gide - gives us more precise information. He asserts that in France, unlike in England, “a true school of economist historians” did not emerge, but he adds: “The effect of the new ideas, however, did not miss to penetrate by numerous channels in the scientific thought. Firstly in 1878 an official teaching in political economy was introduced in Law faculties, and just afterwards, with a direct contact with the legal disciplines, this teaching took on a new character, all penetrated with a historical spirit. At the same time, professional historians were increasingly interested in the issues in economic history [...]. Many among the liberal economists themselves, without pitting themselves against the old school, dedicated their works either to the detailed observation of contemporary facts or to historical research” [1909, p. 448]. Rist mentions Emile Levasseur as being among these liberal economists. He carries on his analysis remarking that a new group came to join the economists; the sociologists. In their study of the economic system, at various times, they have brought “mistrust of abstractions, worry about meticulous observations, a preference for induction as opposed to deduction which rightly characterizes the historical school” [1909, pp. 448-449]. To this end, it must be noted that during the 1870s only a few students attended the lectures of the members of the Historical School in German universities, the majority of whom were sociologists rather than economists: Emile Durkheim, is a good example. In fact, the question of the French reception of the German Historical School of Economics is rarely studied in both older and more recent literature. It would thus be useful to reconsider this question and to examine the diverse aspects of the reception of German economic thought (the “older” and the “younger” Historical Schools) within the various trends of French economic thought during the second half of the 19th century. We can identify hostile as well as positive reactions. The first part of this paper examines the reception of the “older” German Historical School in France under the 2nd Empire. It is during this period that the first debates appear, mainly focusing on method (1857-1868). The second part of this paper deals with the reception of the “younger” German Historical School in France during the Third Republic until the end of the 19th century. In this period, the debates are not limited to methodology; questions of economic policy are also involved (1874-1900). In this paper, we can confirm the overall absence of a French Historical School of Economics and of a strong intellectual influence of the German Historical School during the 19th century. The only economists who were primarily influenced by the German economists were Henri Wolowski in the first half- and Paul Cauwès in the second half of the 19th century. Most of the French economists influenced by the German Historical School were liberal and attached to the existence of universal economic laws. However, from the 1870s, the works of French liberal economists took an increasing role in statistical and historical research. This was the case, for example, for Paul Leroy-Beaulieu and his students. While the influence of the German Historical School concerning methodology is weak, until the First World War, its influence was more significant in regards to economic policy, labour legislation, and protectionism.
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