Gustave de Molinari

Gustave de Molinari (March 3rd 1819 Liege - January 28th 1912 Adinkerque) is a Belgian economist . Disciple of Frederic Bastiat, it is regarded as the founder of the Anarchist-capitalism. He was in favor of the Libre-échange left with his own impulse.

Enthusiast of freedom and responsibility, Gustave de Molinari today is forgotten or arranged by its detractors in the class “hold-all” and if disputed ultra-liberal (1).

If the lapse of memory is more than regrettable so much its thought is fertile and carrying future, the evoked classification proves simply that its protestors poured in this hateful fashion consisting in caricaturing any liberal option and, consequently, did not take the care to analyze with serenity and rigor the thought, original in more than one way, of this atypical humanistic economist.

One of the paradoxes of this man to the life and the plentiful thought is to have been at the same time a concerned “man of the left” of the working class and a voluntarist economist, which was worth the not very enviable fate to him to be rejected by the ones and the others for reasons diametrically opposite. Free exchanger, director of the Newspaper of the economists, Molinari was opposed to his/her own friends when it defended the principle and the role of the trade unions, it is one of the rare economists to seek to reconcile Liberté and justice, social progress, division of the richnesses and freedom of the markets.

Youth

Of Belgian nationality , born the March 3rd 1819, he was the son of the Baron de Molinari, officer of the army of Napoleon installed with Liege in the capacity as doctor. Its childhood and its adolescence, on which we have very little information, if it is not its taste marked for the letters, are held in this city. As for much of young Europeans of this time, Paris constitutes an artistic and cultural center impossible to circumvent. Also in 1840, at 21 years, it leaves its family and her country to settle in the French capital . Its common aspect, its intermediate size, its myopia and its problems of hearing were compensated, and well beyond that, an energy with any test and… a prolonged abundant capillary system, as it should be at that time, by the moustache and the imperial one. What probably constituted its project expensive, to become journalist and carry on his activity in the field of the economy, were going quickly to take body, probably thanks on the one hand to its exceptional energy, its capacity to be convinced and a “feather” which still makes of it a Master of the French language by the accuracy of the expression, the direction of the formula and the clearness of the mot.

Its first French “countryside” (1840 - 1851)

In 1842 it approaches the Political Company of Economy and a year later it publishes its first bearing test on the rise of the railroad and its effects on industry in Europe. Its way is found and its taste for the political economy will not leave it any more. It approaches Frederic Bastiat while becoming assistant secretary of association for the freedom of the exchanges and writer of the newspaper of the latter “the free trade”.

In same time, it defends its ideas in various Parisian newspapers of which the Journal of the economists of which it will become one of the figure most outstanding and publishes its first works of political economy (2).

At the time of the revolution of 1848, opposed to socialist propaganda as to the conservatives, Molinari and to its friends of the club of freedom do not manage to make emerge their ideas. Same manner, the attempt to rejoin its popular masses with these ideas via the newspaper “Jacques Bonhomme” published with his/her friend the Dunkirk Charles Coquelin was a failure. The only positive point was the election of Frederic Bastiat as appointed but that did not change anything so much the toughening positions at that time made inaudible their designs on the freedom to the work and that of the exchanges. In 1851, the coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the conduit to leave the France to find its country of origin.

The time of the analysis. (1851 - 1860)

The return in Belgium after the creative period that it had just lived and the failures which had been followed from there were the occasion of triple step: it continuation of its journalistic activities while collaborating regularly with the newspaper of the economists and by melting in Belgium the newspaper “the Economist” in 1855.

- A deepening in various works (3) of essential concepts like:

natural rules of organization of the market. On the basis of capital and analysis of the organization of the markets of the products, Molinari perceives the fundamental role played by the intermediaries of the exchanges (commercial and banking) and the purses in the collection and information circulation. It then exposes a draft of the organization of the job market which incorporates these two elements. The originality from the point of view of Molinari lies in the importance which it attaches to the progressive emergence of a " organization naturelle" markets. It does not consider as the neo-classic economists competition as a whole of assumptions but as an organization which develops to answer the various problems, obstacles which gènent its operation. Contrary to the liberal economists of its time, he insists above all on the fact that the introduction of the free trade and economic freedom are not enough but a its starting point. What is called today a decentralized economy can function correctly only when certain institutions fully developed. Molinari insists in particular on the tradesmen in the broad sense and the purses which must make it possible to solve the difficulties that the economic agents test to obtain information on the state of the various markets on which they act.

means for the workmen of acting on the job market,
“noncommercial” spheres like the religion, education etc
the place and the role of the State, etc

- L' teaching: for this period, in addition to journalism and the writing, he teaches the political economy with the Royal Museum of industry with Brussels (4) and at the Institute of higher learning of trade of Antwerp. This period, which resembles in certain connections with a “crossing of the desert” is completely essential because it allowed Molinari, extremely lived experiments, to look further into its thought and to develop it. Before very anxious to include/understand and explain, he will never hesitate to push his logic within his extreme limits in order to detect the fundamental springs of them and to learn from them the lessons necessary.

This scientific method will give to its thought a radical appearance, which probably explains a too fast classification in the “extremists” where it was necessary to see a constant research of rigor and exhaustiveness likely to release from the undeniable working tracks. This intermediate, rich period of achievements but especially of promises finishes in 1860, year when it takes again the way of Paris.

The deepening of its thought (1860-1893)

Continuing its collaboration with the newspaper of the economists of which he becomes editor association in 1881, he also takes part in the newspaper of the debates and writes various works (5). All its step develops around the fundamental idea of a real freedom of each individual and of a natural balance of the forces between capital and labor. Lucid and not very inclined with the other-worldliness, he is wary as much of the drifts as allows the detention of the capital in certain situations as of the inherent risks the collectivization and the domination of the State. This leads it to be opposed as much to the Socialists and to Communists of which it estimates certain ideas liberticides, that to the policy of Napoleon III (6) which does not allow necessary freedom of expression and of action. In its logic concluded its, the primacy of the individual on the State, called to disappear, is essential like the only guarantor of a real and durable freedom.

In a world in full effervescence and even in head-on opposition at the time of the commune (7) of Paris, this position strong of its coherence but weakened by its necessarily evolutionary character, could not be essential. Being based on the facts, Molinari continues its reflection and its action by defending with heat three points which he considers essential with the harmonious development of the relations between the individuals:

freedom of expression. Following the example Voltaire, it estimates that all the opinions must be able to be expressed, and that the advance in knowledge in all fields is at this price (8).
right of association of the workers: for him, the possibility of association of the individuals is one of the fundamental keys of the balance of the companies but, within this framework, that of the workers, confronted with the capacity of the capital, revêt a very particular importance. It is the reason for which he criticizes the restrictive position of Napoleon III on this point.
need for training the individuals. So that freedom can be expressed fully, it is not enough to issue it, still is necessary it that the individuals are able to assume only and freely their own businesses. It is thus completely essential to train people gradually, from where its interest shown for education.

These analyzes were logically to lead Molinari to continue and develop its work on the labor markets and the peremptory necessity for a morals in the economic domain.

In addition estimating that the “state of war” constitutes the base of the loss of liberty of the individuals to the profit of the State, he recommends systems of collective alliances and defense making it possible to gradually remove the bases of this alienation.

The time of concessions and the end (1893-1912)

The analyzes of Molinari, tempting and rigorous, were not included/understood with their right value at the time where they were developed. Several reasons can be advanced to try to include/understand this irrefutable fact.

In an extremely tended economic situation, the fact of not taking part for the workers against the capital or the reverse constituted a not very carrying courage in the short run.
To conclude, by an analysis certainly logical and coherent, with the total removal of the State had little chance to be allowed. Indeed, for all and sundry, wrongly or rightly, this supreme entity always corresponded and corresponds (for often opposite reasons) to a recourse or an ultimate and essential reference.
Yesterday as today each one is conceptually convinced of the need of free free trade. But yesterday as today this freedom is lived, in the practical plan, like a main risk for weakest and thus like “the freedom of most extremely”.
the relevance of the demonstrations does not imply necessarily the success of the concepts. However to speak about a total freedom about the individuals and natural balance which was followed from there could as well as possible seem a beautiful “bet” at worst like a Utopia. Contrary, the recourse to the State, can be less tempting, was lived like a true guarantee.

Conscious because of to have pushed its analysis in its term, as it sied for a scientific analysis, Molinari measured the variation which separated it from the individuals from his time, holders of capital or workmen, consumers or producer. Without anything to change with its general principles, particularly in the economic domain, it agreed to modify its vision of the State by admitting the need for a State gendarme (9), but by denying to him any role in the production of the goods and the services. It took its retirement at 90 years and died (10) in Adinkerque (Belgium) on January 28th, 1912.

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