Émile De Laveleye
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye (5 April 1822 – 3 January 1892) was a Belgian
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
. He was one of the co-founders of the Institut de Droit International in 1873.


Biography

De Lavaleye was born in
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
, and educated there and at the Collège Stanislas in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, a celebrated establishment in the hands of the
Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...
. He continued his studies at the
Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and afterwards at
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
, where he came under the influence of the philosopher and
Christian Socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...
. In 1844 he won a prize with an essay on the language and literature of
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
. In 1847, he published ''L'Histoire des rois francs'', and in 1861 a French version of the ''
Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...
,'' but though he never lost his interest in literature and history, his most important work was in the domain of economics. He was one of a group of young lawyers doctors and critics, all old pupils of Huet, who met once a week to discuss social and economic questions and thus was led to publish his views on these subjects. In 1859 some articles by him in the '' Revue des deux mondes'' laid the foundation of his reputation as an economist. In 1864 he was elected to the chair of
political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
at the state
University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...
. Here he wrote his most important works: * ''La Russie et l'Autriche depuis Sadowa'', 1870. * ''Essai sur les Formes de Gouvernement dans les Sociétés Modernes'', 1872. * ''Des Causes Actuelles de Guerre en Europe et de l'Arbitrage'', 1874. * ''De la Proprieté et de ses Formes Primitives,'' 1874 (dedicated to the memories of
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...
and François Huet)


Death and legacy

He died at the Doyon Castle (in present-day
Havelange Havelange (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 4,844 inhabitants. The total area is 104.73 km², giving a population d ...
), near
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
on 3 January 1892. Laveleye's activity included the whole realm of political science, political economy, monetary questions, international law, foreign and Belgian politics, questions of education, religion and morality, travel and literature. He had the art of popularizing even the most technical subjects, owing to the clearness of his view and his firm grasp of the matter in hand. He was especially attracted to England, where he thought he saw many of his ideals of social, political and religious progress realized. He was a frequent contributor to the English newspapers and leading reviews. The most widely circulated of his works was a pamphlet on ''Le Parti clérical en Belgique'', of which 2,000,000 copies had been circulated in ten languages by the beginning of the 20th century.


Works in English translation

*
''Protestantism and Catholicism in their Bearing upon the Liberty and Prosperity of Nations.''
Toronto: Belford Bros., 1876. *
''The New Tendencies of Political Economy.''
New York: The Banker's Magazine and Statistical Register, 1879.
''International Bimetallism and the Battle of the Standard.''
London: P.S. King, 1881. * * ''Regulated Vice in Relation to Morality.'' London: K. Paul, Trench, 1884.
''The Elements of Political Economy.''
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1886. * ''Letters from Italy.'' London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1886.
''The Socialism of Today.''
London: Field and Tuer, 1886. *
''Luxury.''
London: George Allen & Company, 1920.


Selected articles


"Land System of Belgium and Holland."
In: ''Systems of Land Tenure in Various Countries.'' London: Macmillan & Co., 1870.
"The Future of France,"
''The Fortnightly Review,'' Vol. XIV, 1870.
"On the Causes of War, and the Means of Reducing their Number."
In: ''Cobden Club Essays.'' London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1872.
"The Clerical Party in Belgium,"
''The Fortnightly Review,'' Vol. XVIII, 1872.
"Causes of War in the Existing European Situation,"
''The Fortnightly Review,'' Vol. XIX, 1873.
"The Provincial and Communal Institutions of Belgium and Holland."
In: ''Local Government and Taxation.'' London: Cassell Petter & Galpin, 1875.
"Commonplace Fallacies Concerning Money,"Part II
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XL, July/December 1881.
"The Progress of Socialism,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLIII, January/June 1883.
"The Congo Neutralized,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLIII, January/June 1883.
"The Prospects of the Republic in France,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLIV, December 1883.
"Würzburg and Vienna,"Part II
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLVI, November/December 1884.
"A Criticism of Mr. Herbert Spencer,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLVII, January/June 1885.
"Pessimism on the Stage,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLVIII, July/December 1885.
"The Economic Crisis and its Causes,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XLIX, January/June 1886. *
"Civil Government and the Papacy,"
''The Forum'', Vol. V, April 1888.
"The Future of Religion,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LIV, July/December 1888.
"Perils of Democracy,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. VII, 1889.
"Two New Utopias,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LVII, January/June 1890.
"Communism,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LVII, January/June 1890.
"The Division of Africa,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. X, 1891.
"The Foreign Policy of Italy,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. LXI, February 1892.


Notes


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laveleye, Emile de 1822 births 1892 deaths Writers from Bruges Belgian economists Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni Academic staff of the University of Liège Members of the Institut de Droit International