A Treatise on Political Economy

by Jean-Baptiste Say

Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) has been described as a revolutionary, an author of scholarly books and popular tracts, a social philosopher, a successful entrepreneur and a remarkable Renaissance man.

Above all, however, he was a great economist. He might best be described as a proto-Austro-Misesian, the author of the law of markets, known as Say's law, and as the first to coin the term "entrepreneur." Say's concern with the average interested citizen and his zeal for economic education for the masses is most apparent in this classic work, A Treatise on Political Economy.

The book has been heralded by Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, and many modern Austrians, who depend on his insights to assist in the understanding of markets and prices. Keynes only purported to refute him, but Mises said that Keynes only struck down a strawman; Mises was a follower of Say's perspective on the stability of market structures.

Say was not only a more sophisticated economist than Keynes; he was better than Smith in many ways. Larry Sechrest writes of this book: "With pen and ink, Adam Smith made the entrepreneur invisible. J.B. Say brings him back to life and to the center of the stage."

Genres: Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics, History

488 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1815

About the author

Jean-Baptiste Say was a French economist and businessman. He had classically liberal views and argued in favor of competition, free trade, and lifting restraints on business. He is best known for Say's Law, also known as the law of markets, which he popularized. Scholars disagree on the surprisingly subtle question of whether it was Say who first stated what we now call Say's Law.

Reviews

[Josh Kraushaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to re-read the last 50 pages of book 1 (wherever he starts detailing his views on monetary economics) once I have a better understanding of monetary economics and can appreciate what he has to say/debunk what he gets wrong.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic economic text. The five stars is for challenging my thinking. I got the most out of Book 3 on Consumption. Specifically, his thoughts on productive consumption (I would have used the word investment) vs unproductive consumption were different from my own and are forcing me to reconsider them. Naturally, I didn't agree with everything, but Say generally impressed me as a clear-thinker with strong opinions. I would recommend this only to people very interested in economics and specifically the evolution of economic thought.

[Ítalo Borges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilhante. Escrita clara e de fácil intelecção. Este livro é mais objetivo e sucinto que " A Riqueza das Nações". O "Discurso Preliminar" é genial. Além disso é bastante rico em apresentar o pensamento e as preocupações daquela época (início do século XIX). Se todos leigos em economia lessem este livro (eu sou um deles, sou biólogo) muitas propostas governamentais seria muito melhores avaliadas por seus cidadãos.

[Anna]

Also am interested in A Catechism of Political Economy by Say.

[Andry]

good

[Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed here: https://sylvesterkuo.wordpress.com/20...