French economist Jean-Baptiste Say: biography, research. "Treatise on political economy"

Jean-Baptiste Say, whose photo will be presented in the article, is considered one of the outstanding followers of the theory of A. Smith. This figure absolutized ideas about the spontaneous mechanism of management in the market. Let's consider further, than Jean-Baptiste Sej is well-known.

Biography

The figure was born on January 5, 1767 in Lyons, in the family of a merchant, which a priori assumed the presence of such a trait as entrepreneurial ability. Jean Baptiste Say, after receiving sufficient for his time, began to engage in self-study. However, he was influenced by the concept of Smith. The main direction that attracted him was political economy. In the course of studying the discipline he read Smith's work The Wealth of Nations. The ideas proclaimed in this work should have spread not only for the good of the whole of France, but for the whole world, that was the opinion of Jean-Baptiste Say. The economic views of the figure were more influenced by the events of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. His trip to England also played a significant role. In this country, unlike France, not agrarian but industrial tasks began to come to the fore.

Start of activity

Returning in 1789 from England, Say enters the insurance company. There he becomes secretary of Claviere, who will later become finance minister. It should be noted that the future official was studying the "Wealth of Nations" Smith at the time. After 3 years, Jean-Baptiste Say joins the Jacobins, sent to the army of revolutionaries as a volunteer. In 1794, he leaves the service, becomes editor of the Paris Journal and works so until 1799. His independence and eccentricity, critical evaluation of government activities in the economic sector contributed to his quick and successful career as a member of the Tribunan Finance Committee. Practical experience of working in the state apparatus, deep knowledge of scientific developments, combined with the perception of Smith's concept, undoubtedly contributed to his writing his own works on the basics of the theory of improving the social economy.

Jean-Baptiste Say: "A Treatise on Political Economy"

This work is more of a national importance. In the middle of the 18th century, France began to emerge and physiocratic theories soon became very popular. They continued to occupy leading positions in the economy of the country, despite the fact that in 1802 the translation of the "Wealth of the People" was published. Jean-Baptiste Say was able to overcome the established stereotypes of compatriots. To put it briefly, his book has become a simple exposition of the way through which the formation, distribution and consumption of wealth takes place. This work only at first glance repeated and interpreted Smith's ideas. After the publication of the book, Jean-Baptiste Say himself, as well as his colleagues in England, continued to work on improving this work. The edition has undergone repeated additions and alterations. During the lifetime of the figure, the book was published five times. Work on it turned her into the best work of that time.

Principles of methodology

Jean-Baptiste Say, like other classics, built his own concept, following the example of exact sciences. For example, as a sample, physics was taken. In the methodological aspect it means recognition of categories, laws and theories that have a primary and universal meaning. Along with this, according to Say's idea, political economy appears as a theoretical and descriptive phenomenon. The activist unconditionally accepted the principles of market freedom, foreign and domestic trade, pricing, unlimited competition and the inadmissibility of even the slightest manifestations of protectionism. He elevated these ideas to absolute rank. With the adoption of the concept, Say guaranteed the society an objective elimination of overproduction, underconsumption. That is, in fact, in his ideas, he excluded the possibility of crisis phenomena.

Reproduction Theory

In the history of economic doctrine , Say's name is usually associated with the image of a scientist who believed in the harmony of the interests of different social classes in market conditions. He preached for its approval the principles of Smith about the self-regulation of the economy. It should be said that the criticism of the ideas put forward by Jean-Baptiste Say, despite a large number of attempts to disprove them by different figures, remained unconvincing for more than a century. This sustainability of the concept was due to three circumstances. First of all, Smith's "natural order" presupposed the flexibility of wages and prices. With the passive role of finance, the exchange of labor and its results among all market players was mutually beneficial. According to this concept, Jean-Baptiste Say said that another order is simply unacceptable. Secondly, based again on Smith's ideas, he excludes any interference in economic activities from outside. "Say's Law" supports the requirement of minimizing the bureaucratic state apparatus, preventing protectionism. In addition, the concept predicts progress in the development of market relations in society based on the results of scientific and technological progress.

The essence of the "law"

It consisted in the fact that when the members of the society achieve all the basic principles of economic liberalism, the proposal (production) will provoke adequate demand (consumption). That is, output will consistently generate income for which the goods will be sold freely. So "Say's law" was perceived by all supporters of the idea of economic liberalism. They believed that free and flexible pricing in market conditions would provoke an almost instantaneous reaction to changes in the economic situation. This, in turn, would be the guarantor of self-regulation in the economy. In fact, if we assume the probability of barter relations in which money is only a unit of account, and the aggregate demand for them is equal to the value of all goods to be exchanged for financial resources, then total overproduction is impossible. Hence Blaug's conclusion becomes logical and understandable. He consisted in a simple explanation of the law, which Jean-Baptiste Say - "products are paid for products" - in both foreign and domestic trade. This thought made a real sensation at the time.

Criticism of Karl Marx

This figure believed himself to be the continuer of not only Smith's ideas, but also Ricardo. Karl Marx particularly sharply criticized the latter and those who shared Say's concept of the impossibility of crises in the economy. He argued the inevitability of cyclical (periodic) phenomena of overproduction. In addition, Marx considered it unacceptable to treat economic crises as a problem of underconsumption. At the same time, problematic phenomena, according to modern conceptual provisions, are conditioned not so much and not only by the unreliability of Say's ideas, but by the natural prerequisites for the emergence of conditions for the priority of imperfect competition and the spread of monopoly. These categories underlie the existing theories of state regulation of the economic sector, social control over its development.

Three factors of production

Economic ideas Say were definitely supported and reflected in the works of Malthus. For example, his rather widespread theory of production costs is almost entirely based on the provisions advanced earlier. So, Say derived the theory of three production factors: land, labor and capital. This, in turn, points to the polarity of the conclusions made by the followers of Smith's concept. If Ricardo, Marx, Social-Utopians, Sismondi, and a number of other figures recognized labor as the source of the value of production, then the other part of the adherents accepted as the initial category the costs arising from the means of production (capital), wages (labor) and rent Land), which was carried by the entrepreneur. Jean-Baptiste Say, Malthus and the adherents of their ideas, the value of products and the income of members of society were seen in the joint activities and peaceful relations of producers. The followers of Smith and Ricardo saw the origin of profits and rents as a deduction from the value of the work of the working people in the exploitation of power by capital and class antagonism.

Theory of value

Regarding this issue, Sei had some definitions of his own. At the same time, he did not so much repeat the ideas of Smith, as he was engaged in the search for new concepts. For example, based on the proposition that the product always has two indissoluble characteristics-consumer and exchange values- Sei attached special importance to the relationship between the value and utility of goods. Together with this, he paid much more attention to three production factors. A peculiar interpretation of Smith's conception was the formula by which labor generates a salary as a worker's profit, capital - the income of capitalists, land - the rent of landowners. Say, thus, clarified that these factors have an independent value in the formation of revenue.