Jérôme-Adolphe Blanqui (; November 21, 1798 – January 28, 1854) was a French

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 ...

. His most important contributions were made in

labour economics Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the Market (economics), markets for wage labour. Labour (human activity), Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding ...

economic history Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...

, and especially the

history of economic thought The history of economic thought is the study of the philosophies of the different thinkers and theories in the subjects that later became political economy and economics, from the ancient world to the present day. This field encompasses many d ...

, in which field his 1837 treatise has been the first major work. He was a disciple of

Jean-Baptiste Say Jean-Baptiste () is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was K ...

to whom he succeeded in 1833 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 Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, and a free trader.

Life

Blanqui was born at

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionGirondin politician Jean-Dominique Blanqui; the revolutionary Louis-Auguste Blanqui was his younger brother. He began his career as an instructor, giving his time to chemistry and other sciences allied to medicine, acting as assistant professor of the humanities in the Institution Massin, a Paris secondary school. This job brought him into connection with Say, who procured for young Blanqui the chair of History and Industrial Economy at the School of Commerce in Paris (now

ESCP Europe ESCP Business School (; ) is a French business school and ''grande école'' founded in Paris and based across Europe with campuses in Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Turin, and Warsaw. Established in 1819, it is considered the world's oldest busi ...

). In 1830, Blanqui rose to the position of director of the school, and in 1833, he succeeded Say in the professor's chair in the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. Blanqui advocated principles of commercial freedom but also showed sympathy for the working class. As a writer, he was noted for research, lucidity, occasional sallies of wit, brilliant passages and eloquence. In an article published for the bicentenary of the school in 2019, Ghislain Deslandes also exhibits his central role in the development of business education in France. As he explains in this text, "combatting ugliness, knowing how to deal with difference, leading by example while keeping pace with technological developments: such are the key messages of Blanqui’s work, and his legacy to posterity. These elements represent the backbone, and reflect the decidedly European character, of Blanqui’s legacy to management teaching and research. To learn about management is to learn about the world, how to interpret and untangle it". Blanqui was an early member of the

Société d'économie politique The Société d’Economie Politique () is a French learned society concerned with political economy. It was founded in 1842 to provide a forum for discussion of free trade, a subject of violent debate at the time, and has continued to organize dis ...

organized in 1842 by

Pellegrino Rossi Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, unde ...

. Blanqui died 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 ...

on January 28, 1854.

Works

Blanqui's major work is ''Histoire de l'économie politique en Europe depuis les anciens jusqu'à nos jours'' (1837), translated in English in 1880 as ''History of Political Economy in Europe''. His other publications include ''Résumé de l'histoire du commerce et de l'industrie'' (1826), ''Précis élémentaire d'économie politique''(1826), ''De la situation économique et morale de l'Espagne'' (1846) and ''Les classes ouvrières en France'' (1848). Besides journalistic articles, Blanqui published also: *''Travels in England and Scotland'' (1824); *''Journey to Madrid'' (1826); *A series of ''Reports on the Products of French Industry in 1827'' (1827); *''The English Minister Huskisson, and his Economic Reform''; *''Report on the Economic and Moral Condition of Corsica'' (1838); *''Report on the Economic Condition of the French Possessions in Algeria'' (1840); * ; *''Report on the World's Fair in London'' (1851); and *''Life and Work of Jean Baptiste Say''. A series of letters between Blanqui and

Emile de Girardin Emile or Émile may refer to: * Émile (novel) (1827), autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life * Emile, Canadian film made in 2003 by Carl Bessai * '' Emile: or, On Education'' (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a treatise ...

, in which free trade and protection were discussed, appeared in 1846 and 1847.

References

*"Blanqui, Jérôme-Adolphe", in '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', Eatwell, Milgate, Newman (eds.), 1987. *Blanqui, Jérôme-Adolphe. 1880. ''History of political economy in Europe.'' Translated by E. J. Leonard. New York: Putnam. *McCulloch, J.R. (1845). ''The Literature of Political Economy'' *Schumpeter, J.A. (1954). ''History of Economic Analysis''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanqui, Adolphe 1798 births 1854 deaths People from Nice Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Orléanists Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy 19th-century French economists French classical liberal economists Historians of economic thought