CHARLES DUNOYER AND FRENCH CLASSICAL LIBERALISM LEONARD P. LIGGIO Deprlment ofAmerican Sfudier, Slale University ofNew York, Old Weslbury (Barthelemy) Charles (Pierre Joseph) Dunoyer force in the development of the ecoles centrales (1786-1862) was born on May 20, 1786 at as he had been for the creation of the Institut de Caremac in ancient Tureme (Quercy, Cahorsin), France. During 1791-1792 Talleyrand had the present-day Lot. His father, Jean-Jacques- proposed a secondary education based on langu- Philippe Dunoyer, was seigneur de Segonzac. ages, literature, history and ethics; and Condor- Destined at an early age for the order of St. cet had countered with an emphasis on Jean de Malte, he began his education in the mathematics, sciences, and the political and order's near-by house at Martel. With the moral sciences. in 1795, after a proposal by confiscation of the order's houses in 1792, his Lakanal for a more scientific program, a less aunt, formerly of the Visitation order, and, scientific one of Daunou was adopted. Earlier, then, the former Benedictine prior of Carennac, Daunou, along with Lakanal and Sieyes, continued his education at home. His secondary desired that education be freed to be supplied by education was completed at Cahors in the ecole private initiative. Daunou emphasized that centrale, one of the newly established schools liberty was a necessary condition for scientific under the Directory in which the ideas of the progress. This concept formed an important 18th century philosophes, and especially, the part of the educational and economic thought Ideologues, predominated. In 1803, Dunoyer of Destutt de Tracy, who was active in went to Paris to study law at the newly founded educational policy under the Directory as well Universite de Jurisprudence. as a leading Ideologue. Fran~oisGuillaume Dunoyer arrived in Paris as a major intellectual Andrieux, president of the Tribunat and and political era was ending and a new one - contributor to the Decade, said that if it was the Empire - was beginning. Dunoyer's better "to leave action to individual interest", education at the Pcole centrale had introduced then private market education should be the him to the major thinkers of the Enlightenment norm: "There would then be competition, and their followers during the Revolution and emulation, as Smith, Mirabeau, etc., have not Directory. Beginning in 1800 a strong campaign hesitated to embrace this last policy". Jean- against the Enlightenment was initiated in Baptiste Say advocated the market approach to Paris, but was countered with lessening impact education in his Trait6 d'economie politique by the major organ of the philosophe tradition, (1803), for which he was not renewed in the La DPcade Philosophique, of which the Tribunat."' principal editor had been Jean-Baptiste Say The Dkcade was particularly significant in (1767-1832). Say was general editor of theme the history of economic thought. It contributed from its founding (An 11, April 29, 1794) until strongly to the development of Say's thinking, his entry into the Tribunat in 1800."' The and Say was the most important economist in education with which Dunoyer came to Paris France during the Restoration. What would was the product of the work of a number of men become even more accentuated in Say's Traite, who contributed to the DPcade. the DPcode was a major means of introducing Pierre Claude Franpis Daunou (1761-1840). the economic iaeas of Adam Smith in a France who was to be closely associated with Charles where the concepts of the Physiocrats had been Dunoyer during the Restoration, was the major dominant. While Condorcet represented the 154 LEONARD P. LIGGIO beginning of a transition from the exclusive destructive of capitalism in America. For Say, as agrarianism of the Physiocrats, his initiatives for many French radicals, Rousseau was toward industrialism remained limited. But, the associated with Franklin (and Jefferson). The impact of the industrial revolution in France (it second part of Franklin's Autobiography was had reached the point of inaugurating the first printed by the Dhde in 1798 under Say's standardization of manufactured elements by editorship; he also printed various letters and 1785) upon Condorcet, had more far-reaching essays of Franklin. Robert Fulton represented repercussions on the thinking of Say and Destutt an ideal American in Paris with his book on de Tracy. However, the frame of reference of improvement of canal navigation, which Say the Physiocrats remained significant. For them, reviewed, and his successful steamship sailing natural society existed before the state. Natural on the Seine. Say, in 1803, sent Jefferson a society was absolute, necessary and permanent; copy of his Traite accompanied by a letter: the state was relative, accidental and provisional. It is likewise your task to demonstrate to the friends of The Physiocrats' anarchism looked forward to liberty throughout Europe how great an extent of personal liberty is compatible with the maintenance of the disappearance of the State. Condorcet the social body. It will then no longer be possible to strongly articulated this individualism, and his defile by excesses the noblest of causes; and it will ' thought was accorded more attention than perhaps finally be perceived that civil liberty is the true goal of social organization, and that we must anyone else's in the Decade. lJ1 consider political liberty only as a means of attaining For Say, industrialism and anarchism found this end. The United States are the children of Europe; but the children are ereater than the oarents. We are old their model in the United States, just as Chinese parmi, rased in fool~$hpreludreq, .'hamrd by a mass agrarian despotism was the model for most ot anclent letters, and bound by a quantlty of puer~lc Physiocrats. The Physiocrats' preference for ramldrrauons You udl shou JS [he [rue nays to free ourselves from them. For you have done more than a "refined", communal, agricultural, old, win your liberty; you haveestablished it.L51 tired, bureaucratic society had been opposed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "common", indivi- For Say, America was the model of the young, dualist, non-agricultural craftsman, young, fresh, active, unrefined society whose indust- fresh, non-bureaucratic society. "In passing rialism and anarchism would contribute to simply from the refinement of an old society human perfection. He said in the Traitb: tightly formed around agriculture to the Herc uc indirnre the pwnr of conta~between polaiial economy anrl purr polltc~. trqone is c0nvln;ed industrial activity of a new society, we again go that the sacrifices that the \rat< oi soaery mnporeson forward from the Physiocrats to Rousseau. It is us are especially the least where the government is always the romanticism of the noble savage best . .. In which country is one best governed, that is to say least governed at the cheapest cost than in the under a different form". Say held that only United States?"' man in a state of advanced personal well- Say's optimism and naturalism was funda- being could achieve the natural perfection of mental to the economic thought which he which Rousseau spoke. Only where the society introduced. These premises were basic to many is natural can natural and social perfection be of the Physiocrats as well as to Rousseau. The achieved; economic society for Say is natural, Physiocrats placed the age of gold in the but political society is not natural and thus future, in contrast to Rousseau; they posited an inhibits man's perfection. "J.-B. Say is in individual naturalism a posteriori to Rousseau's agreement with Rousseau in proclaiming that individual naturalism apriori. The influence of political society is assuredly not natural"."' Rousseau's individualism along with that of Dunoyer's interest in the United States in his Adam Smith caused Say to negate the political own writings and in articles (especially about means which many Physiocrats had favored. Franklin) in his periodicals, reflected a similar The individualism of Say's thought led his interest on the part of the Ideologues and economic naturalism to obviate the political especially Say in the DPcade. Say was critical of system. With reference to Rousseau, the Federalists and of the speculators in The economic utilitarianism is extended to the government business and securities who might individual. Individual naturalism is extended to the introduce materialism and large fortunes economy. It is from this conjunction that the new CHARLES DUNOYER AND FRENCH CLASSICAL LIBERALISM 155 naturalism is born. And here is how, while for action, contrary to what Bentham thought, nor by the Rousseau social utilitarianism was the means of abolition of government, contrary to what Godwin individual naturalism, Say, after having strictly thought. If government can achieve nothing against separated in his heart political society and economy, economic reality, it becomes an integral part of that posited simply that political utilitarianism is the reality. superfluous and temporary means of a naturalism not . ,is it not Adam Smith's optimistic utilitarianism only individual but economic, of that natural coinci- that J.B. Say begins anew? In such a manner that dence of individual utilitarianism and economic definitely will his political economy be founded utilitarianism. actually less against Godwin than against Bentham, If one goes to the foundation of things one would and less against the utilitarian rationalism of Bentham conclude finally that Say continues Rousseau much than against the pessimistic utilitarian naturalism of more than he contradicts him."' Malthus and Ricard~?'~' Adam Smith differed from the Physiocrats The pessimistic utilitarianism of Malthus and in putting aside their acceptance of a political Ricardo in opposition to Godwin and his system which they hoped to rationalize. His Smithian optimism was rooted in the crises of contribution was rooted in a utilitarian naturalism overproduction occurring during the period of in which economic and social relations flourished the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon.