Doctrinal history of the political economy professor corps in French law faculties from 1877 to 1942
Facchini, François
Doctrinal history of the political economy professor corps in French law faculties from 1877 to 1942 - 2024.
79
This article proposes a doctrinal history of the professor corps at French law faculties. A doctrine is a system that implies, on the part of its authors, a value judgment accompanied by a program of social reconstruction, when this judgment results in a total or partial condemnation of the current economic world. Professors of political economy at law faculties are grouped into three groups: socialists, interventionists, and liberals. In 1877, 75% of the first corps of political economy professors at French law faculties defended classical liberalism. By 1897, liberalism among these professors had fallen to 41%. Their share then declined to 15% by 1942. The institutionalization of political economy in the faculties favored the formation of a new orthodoxy around the search for a third way (more than 70% of the professor corps in 1942) between liberalism and socialism. It also helped to establish the socialist doctrine in the faculties. Moreover, law faculties have given France many politicians. 10% of economics professors from this period went on to hold ministerial or equivalent posts. In addition to the historical interest of this history, it notes that classical liberalism, at least in the faculties, was challenged before the 1929 crisis. The evolution of doctrinal positions preceded the facts, in this case the great crisis. JEL code: A11
Doctrinal history of the political economy professor corps in French law faculties from 1877 to 1942 - 2024.
79
This article proposes a doctrinal history of the professor corps at French law faculties. A doctrine is a system that implies, on the part of its authors, a value judgment accompanied by a program of social reconstruction, when this judgment results in a total or partial condemnation of the current economic world. Professors of political economy at law faculties are grouped into three groups: socialists, interventionists, and liberals. In 1877, 75% of the first corps of political economy professors at French law faculties defended classical liberalism. By 1897, liberalism among these professors had fallen to 41%. Their share then declined to 15% by 1942. The institutionalization of political economy in the faculties favored the formation of a new orthodoxy around the search for a third way (more than 70% of the professor corps in 1942) between liberalism and socialism. It also helped to establish the socialist doctrine in the faculties. Moreover, law faculties have given France many politicians. 10% of economics professors from this period went on to hold ministerial or equivalent posts. In addition to the historical interest of this history, it notes that classical liberalism, at least in the faculties, was challenged before the 1929 crisis. The evolution of doctrinal positions preceded the facts, in this case the great crisis. JEL code: A11
Réseaux sociaux