Economic Theory and Political Philosophy: Some Preliminary Remarks on Sismondi's Collected Economic Writings

This contribution develops various arguments in favour of a critical edition of Sismondi's collected economic works. Beyond the difficulties of actually getting hold of out-of-print published works and the large number of unpublished manuscripts kept in various archives in Switzerland, Italy and France, such a venture should help working towards a rigorous reexamination of Sismondi's entire output as well as evaluating anew the part he played during the crucial transition between Smithian and Ricardian economics. This article reevaluates first Sismondi's contribution to the 1800-1820 macro-economic debate before discussing the Smithian methodology used by Sismondi to connect wealth with happiness. Eventually, this essay argues and defends a continuity argument on the links explicitly drawn by Sismondi in his entire work between economic theory and his political philosophy.