Frédéric Le Play: a forefather of social economics

FLOREAL FORNI; ADA FREYTES; GERMÁN QUARANTA

International Journal of social Economics

MCB University Press

Año: 1998 vol. 25 p. 1380 - 1397

Frédéric Le Play´s thought, as well as that of other classical authors in the nineteenth century, was developed in the context of the economic, political, demographic and cultural transformations produced by the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution generated a deep concern among the social thinkers of that time about such subjects as the working c1ass situation in the light of the industrial production, the insalubrities and misery of urban life, the factory system and the new technology. We can mention, as examples, Engel´s famous monograph about the working class situation in England (Engels, 1946) 01´ Marx´s magnificent analysis about industrial laws and working conditions (Marx, 1959). In this essay, we intend to demonstrate that Le Play´s work has certain characteristics precursory to a social economic approach. Basically, he introduces institutional elements in the economic analysis and, by doing so, he withdraws from classical theory, which postulates the supply and demand automatic equilibrium in a "transparent" market. With this purpose, we will follow the next steps: in the first place, we will characterize the distinctive features shared by the different currents of social economics. In the second place, we will review the formation of Le Play´s thought, since we consider that the originality of his perspective is due, in part, to the influence of different philosophical traditions. Then, we will explain why his writings are a social economics antecedent and, finally, we will draw some conclusions.