Utility and Justice: French Liberal Economists in the 19th Century.

Nathalie Sigot (1)

1 PHARE - Pôle d'Histoire de l'Analyse et des Représentations Économiques

French liberal economists share a very surprising reading of Bentham's theory. In this paper, we underline the method according to which these French liberal economists in the nineteenth century economists understand Bentham's utilitarianism: they consider that utilitarianism deals with 'utility' but disregards justice. Such an interpretation appears when they tried to oppose the 'French school' and 'English school' of economics as well as when they discussed the foundation of property rights.

Mots clés: utility; French liberal economists; utilitarianism; justice; property rights

Mots clés: Economistes libéraux français; utilitarisme; droits de propriété; utilité

Domaines: Economies et finances

Nathalie Sigot. Utility and Justice: French Liberal Economists in the 19th Century.. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2010, 17 (4), pp.759-792. ⟨10.1080/09672560903552546⟩. ⟨hal-00637265⟩