Was Jean-Baptiste Say a Market Anarchist?
According to Say, writes Amadeus Gabriel, all productive enterprises are created by individuals in society, not by the state. It is the responsibility of productive enterprise to support the continuity of families, the components of society. Likewise, if there are government officials in the society, they exist at the people's expense. Only those who refuse to acknowledge this reality can still represent the state under the emblem of the family and public authority as an image of paternal power. Furthermore, Say attacks the role of the government in commerce. He denounces those who pretend that government would have a favorable influence by asking what could be more favorable than a man's privacy as well as his liberty. FULL ARTICLE
Comments (3)
Wow -- great work!
Published: March 28, 2007 12:30 PM
I've often wondered whether Say was a market anarchist. Several of his followers and his associates were. Was he? This article leads to a satisfactory conclusion.
Published: March 28, 2007 2:59 PM
The article was very eye opening and Say himself offered some of the most brilliant quotes Ive heard in a long time. "No. And the reason of this is the fact that government is not at all an essential part of the social organization", amazing. I wish many more people could understand this. I have to read the writings now of Say and just embrace his prose and style.
Published: March 28, 2007 8:27 PM