The Foundations of Justice in Jules Dupuit's Thought

Philippe Poinsot (1)

1 PHARE - Pôle d'Histoire de l'Analyse et des Représentations Économiques

The ongoing interpretation of Dupuit's conflict with the French liberal school on the question of justice consists of a simple opposition between public utility and natural rights. This paper aims to show that Dupuit's position is far more complex: justice is based on welfare - and thus on public utility - although natural rights are not excluded from his scheme. An understanding of Dupuit's concept requires a clarification of the differences between three notions - public interest, welfare and public utility - and, by the same token, of the factors linking each notion to the others.

Mots clés: welfare; the School of Paris; general interest; justice; Jules Dupuit

Domaines: Economies et finances; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Philippe Poinsot. The Foundations of Justice in Jules Dupuit's Thought. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2010, 17 (4), http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09672567.2010.499472. ⟨10.1080/09672567.2010.499472⟩. ⟨hal-00644523⟩