Auguste Alburt Prudent Detœuf (6 August 1883 – 11 April 1947) was a French economist, essayist, and industrialist.

Biography

Early life and education

Auguste Detœuf studied at Polytechnique University (class of 1902), then became a general engineer for roads and bridges.

Career

He began working in 1908 at the

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

works of the navy in

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

. He was then appointed to

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

in 1912. He became interested in the problems of port operations and implemented his ideas during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was then assigned to the technical commission for navigable waterways. From director of the port of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, he became general manager of Thomson-Houston. From 1928 to 1940, he was the first chairman of

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

. Involved in the upheavals of his time, Detœuf gave a famous speech in 1936 to the X-Crise group entitled "The end of liberalism". In 1938, he took part in the Walter Lippmann colloquium where, on certain themes, he opposed

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

. He is also one of the founders of the magazine Nouveaux Cahiers, which campaigns for the rapprochement of employers with trade unions. Under the Occupation, Detœuf was president of one of the "organizing committees" created by the

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

, that of the electrical construction industries. He is also a member of the Economic Studies Council, which meets twice a month with the Minister of the Economy in Vichy. 1883 births 1947 deaths 20th-century French economists École Polytechnique alumni French industrialists People of the French Third Republic French male essayists 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers {{France-academic-bio-stub