HomeEconomists and Power
Economists and Power
Les économistes et le pouvoir
XVth International Conference of the Charles Gide Association for the Study of Economic Thought
XVème colloque international de l’association Charles Gide pour l’étude de la pensée économique
Published on Monday, July 22, 2013
Abstract
The XVth International Conference of the Charles Gide Association for the Study of Economic Thought (ACGEPE) will be held at the Lyon 2-Lumière University from 22nd to 24th May 2014. This conference will be organized by the TRIANGLE laboratory (UMR No. 5206 of the CNRS). The XVth Charles Gide Conference will host sessions on a specific theme: "Economists and power." It also welcomes papers and sessions in all areas of the history of economic thought. The current financial and economic crisis questions both the nature of the knowledge produced by the economic science of today and the practices of economists - as experts, advisors, or even members of governments known as technocrats -, so it encourages the economists to increase the reflexivity of their influence and responsibility. This is precisely the relationship between the economists and political power through the course of history that we would like to see studied in these thematic sessions.
Announcement
The XVth International Conference of the Charles Gide Association for the Study of Economic Thought (ACGEPE) will be held at the Lyon 2-Lumière University from 22nd to 24th May 2014. This conference will be organized by the TRIANGLE laboratory (UMR No. 5206 of the CNRS). The XVth Charles Gide Conference will host sessions on a specific theme: "Economists and power." It also welcomes papers and sessions in all areas of the history of economic thought.
« Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist ».
John Maynard Keynes, 1936.
Argument
The current financial and economic crisis questions both the nature of the knowledge produced by the economic science of today and the practices of economists - as experts, advisors, or even members of governments known as technocrats -, so it encourages the economists to increase the reflexivity of their influence and responsibility. This is precisely the relationship between the economists and political power through the course of history that we would like to see studied in these thematic sessions. Proposals for such communications may address the following three levels:
- Economic knowledge and power.
What reflexivity of the economists? Alternately described as "the science of government", science of allocation of scarce means for alternative ends left to the discretion of the rulers, pure science, moral science, can economic science be (or must be) "neutral", to use the adjective chosen by Lionel Robbins in 1932? How can it be broken down into pure or self-knowledge and practical skills in the conduct of economic policies and social reforms? As economists, how are we to achieve the possible performativity of the statements of the economic theory? Besides the epistemological positions of each one, can we identify the historical periods of methodological or epistemological "crisis" echoing our current questions?
- The economists of power.
This is addressed by the explicit role of economists from or within the political power. We shall first note the institutional functions of several economists as "advisors of the Prince" by François Quesnay and his disciples to the planners during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries or the contemporary experts in study organisations and economic committees. We shall then note the functions performed by some parliamentarians (for example, Ricardo to the House of Commons) or the functions of ministers endorsed by others (Turgot, Schumpeter, etc...). Finally, we shall note the role of the economists in various think tanks and lobby groups engaged in the service of political parties. Have these different functions developed the economic theory?
- The political power of economic ideas.
Beyond any possible political commitments, what was the political use of the economic theories or knowledge? Can theory become a political instrument? Are the economists responsible for these uses? More broadly, with the idea of the performativity of economic science, political scientists and sociologists have renewed the question about the role of economists in action on reality or proposed nuanced analyses of modalities of the circulation of knowledge. The thematic sessions of the conference will be also devoted to the difficulty of public powers in considering economic expertise.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for papers in the form of abstracts of approximately 500 words must be submitted
no later than 1st September 2013
to the following link of the conference website: http://gide2014.sciencesconf.org/user/submit
The deadline for sending the final version of the papers is April 30th, 2014.
Proposals for complete sessions are also welcome; they must contain a title where necessary, a summary of each of the proposals for papers and the names of the presidents of the session.
A selection of papers will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the history of economic thought.
Contact: gide2014@sciencesconf.org
Conference website: http://gide2014.sciencesconf.org
Scientific committee
- Franck Bessis (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Tito Boeri (Université Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Directeur du Festival dell’Economia di Trento)
- Pascal Bridel (Centre Walras-Pareto, Université de Lausanne)
- Loïc Charles (EconomiX, Université de Reims)
- Pierre Dockès (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Gilbert Faccarello (Triangle, Université de Paris 2)
- Ludovic Frobert (Triangle, CNRS – ENS Lyon)
- Roger Guesnerie (Paris School of Economics, Collège de France)
- Marco Guidi (Université de Pise, Italie)
- Pascal Le Merrer (Gate, ENS de Lyon, Directeur des «Journées de l’économie»)
- Jean-Hervé Lorenzi (Président du Cercle des économistes)
- Arnaud Orain (LED, Université de Paris 8)
- Renaud Payre (Triangle, Institut d’études politiques de Lyon)
- Jean-Paul Pollin (LEO, Université d’Orléans)
- Jean-Pierre Potier (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- André Tiran (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
Organization committee
- Michaela Blondeau (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Carole Boulai (Triangle, CNRS)
- Clément Coste (Triangle, Université Lyon 3)
- Brigitte Esnault (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Gilbert Faccarello (Triangle, Université de Paris II)
- Jean-Baptiste Fréry (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Ludovic Frobert (Triangle, CNRS – ENS Lyon)
- Marion Gaspard (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Rebeca Gomez Betancourt (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Sylvère Matéos (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Jean-Pierre Potier (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
- Christophe Salvat (Triangle, CNRS – ENS Lyon)
- Claire Silvant (Triangle, Université Lyon 2)
Subjects
- Economics (Main category)
- Society > History > Economic history
- Society > Science studies
- Society > Political studies
Places
- Lyon, France (69)
Date(s)
- Sunday, September 01, 2013
Attached files
Keywords
- économiste, pouvoir, histoire de la pensée économique
Contact(s)
- Jean-Pierre Potier
courriel : gide2014 [at] sciencesconf [dot] org
Reference Urls
Information source
- Carole Boulai
courriel : carole [dot] boulai [at] msh-lse [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Economists and Power », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, July 22, 2013, https://doi.org/10.58079/o23
