Gournay Lives! The Freedom of Labor in a Three-Part Exchange of the 1750s

Vincent de Gournay and Chamber of Commerce of Lyon

Econ Journal Watch, 2023, vol. 20, issue 1, 159–203

Abstract: The present material consists of a three-part exchange that took place in France, written 1753. The first part is a spirited and insightful memorial by the great exponent of economic liberalism Vincent de Gournay (1712–1759) about the freedom to work, in opposition to the exclusionary privileges enjoyed by guilds. The second part is a reply by the Chamber of Commerce of Lyon, defending those privileges. The third part is Gournay’s rejoinder, in which he reiterates his arguments and original position, but also says, if we cannot eradicate the evils, let’s at least mitigate them by liberalizing as we can. These materials are here translated into English for the first time. Benoît Malbranque provides a Foreword and editorial notes throughout. He translated the first two parts of the exchange, from French, while Jens Grandell and Klas Eriksson translated Gournay’s response—from Swedish, oddly enough.

Keywords: Guilds; apprenticeships; occupational licensing; Physiocracy; liberty; laissez faire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 B0 B1 B2 B3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ejw:journl:v:20:y:2023:i:1:p:159-203

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