Gustav de Molinari, the first libertarian?

 [[{“value”:”He was a nineteenth century Belgian economist, wonderful to read, and still neglected as a thinker.  Here is one excerpt from a short open access book by Benoit Malbranque, now on line: Gustave de Molinari himself was perhaps as much a traveler, a journalist and an historian, as he was a political philosopher. In fact,
The post Gustav de Molinari, the first libertarian? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.”}]] 

He was a nineteenth century Belgian economist, wonderful to read, and still neglected as a thinker.  Here is one excerpt from a short open access book by Benoit Malbranque, now on line:

Gustave de Molinari himself was perhaps as much a traveler, a journalist and an historian, as he was a political philosopher. In fact, apart from a handful of professional travelers, very few people knew so much about the world as he did. Over the years, he made lengthy stays in Switzerland (1857), Russia (1860, 1882), Canada (1876, 1880, 1885), Ireland (1880), and the United States (1876, 1880, 1885). His journeys also made him discover England, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Turkey, as well as the Caribbean islands, Panama, Columbia, and Venezuela. Travels were obviously, at that time, more perilous and adventurous than they are now. By sea, they were both uncomfortable and terribly long: crossing the Atlantic Ocean took de Molinari 12 days in 1876, 10 days in 1880, and 11 days in 1885.

Part of his forward-looking libertarianism was a strong belief in international agreements, in the interests of peace and mutual cooperation.  He also blamed the poor quality and high expense of American food, as he perceived it, on American protectionism.

Here is a more general page of relevant material on French liberalism.  All via Daniel Klein.

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 History, Philosophy, Uncategorized