The publicist period: researching the Social Ideal
It was at this point that Leon Walras’s career as an economist and publicist properly began. He benefited from a rich philosophical heritage: a French heritage, based on Victor Cousin and Theodore Jouffroy, but also on the doctrine of natural law; and a political economic heritage, based on physiocracy, Condorcet, Turgot, Destutt de Tracy and Saint-Simonism.
Antoine-Auguste was also a true mentor and sought to help his son in his efforts to gain acceptance in the world of economists. He prompted Leon to participate in the Congres international de l’impot (International Congress on Taxes), held in Lausanne in 1860, and organized at the initiative of the Vaud Radical Party. Unconvincing in the eyes of Joseph Garnier, who strongly disliked Walras’s support to the collective property of land, Walras impressed the Vaud authorities, who therefore invited him to teach a course in political economy. Unfortunately Walras took only fourth place in the contest following the Congres, but this episode remained a decisive factor in his future academic career.Auguste’s contribution was not confined to giving good advice. He helped his son to write “Theorie critique de l’impot”. He was also very helpful in the drafting of his son’s Concours (competitive exam) paper. More importantly, he made available to his son the notes he wrote on Proudhon in 1859, which Leon used extensively in his L’economie politique et la justice (OEC V). The Walrases were opposed to Proudhon’s doctrine, and were keen to demonstrate that getting maximum utility can be achieved only under a regime of absolutely free competition.
At that time, Leon tried to collaborate with influential journals such as the Journal des Economistes and La Presse, which he joined almost simultaneously in 1860. His contribution to both journals lasted less than two years, as he then tried to launch his own newspaper, L’Economiste - but failed to get authorization for publication.
In 1862, Walras’s co-operativist years began, during which he turned to practical work.
His co-operativism is of a peculiar kind, far from the socialist tradition, supported by business circles, rather than emanating from workers. In 1863, while occuping the position of Director of railways for the Rothschilds, he developed an advance bank to facilitate pooling modest savings so as to enable the working class to access ownership of their homes. While working in 1864 for the Caisse d’escompte des associations popu- laires chaired by Leon Say, Walras managed to direct his own newspaper. In 1866, he published Le Travail, organe international des interets economiques de la classe laborieuse, revue du mouvement cooperatif. He was careful not to advocate the co-operative form as the only desirable form of organization. Disagreements emerged with the Belgian owner of the newspaper, Constant Leirens; Leon Say for a while supported the publication in France, until it was finally discontinued in 1868, for lack of subscribers and in conjunction with the decline in popularity of co-operative ideas. That same year, the Caisse d’escompte was liquidated.Leon Walras’s early years in France (1853-1870) were plagued with failure and he confessed himself that his career “was the career of a man living in the wrong homeland” (OEC V 19). He had failed both his literary career and his cooperatives projects and activities; he was an unsuccessful economist and publicist, too; in 1870, he had a job as a junior clerk at Hollander Bank. Salvation came from another country and from a city he already knew: Switzerland and Lausanne.
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