François Simiand
Encyclopedia
François Simiand was a French
sociologist
and economist
best known as a participant in the Année Sociologique. As a member of the French Historical School of economics
, Simiand predicated a rigorous factual and statistical basis for theoretical models and policies. His contribution to French social science was recognized in 1931 when, at the age of 58, he was elected to the faculty of the Collège de France
and accepted the chair in labor history.
Simiand's career was unusual. Like many destined to become influential academics in France
, he entered the École Normale Supérieure
and graduated
in philosophy
at the top of his class in 1896. However, he quickly became interested in law
and economics
and submitted a thesis on the wages of coal miners in France (1904) to the faculty of law rather than becoming an academic. As a result, he foreclosed forever the possibility of a prominent university appointment. Thus in 1901 he became the librarian for the French Ministries of Commerce and Labor, a post he held until the outbreak of World War I
. From 1910 on he also taught Economic History at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes
, an institution which did not require a doctorate from its lecturers.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century Simiand joined the editorial board of the Année Sociologique. He became a central member of the group as editor of the economic sociology section and served as its expert on statistics. At the same time, as someone removed from the politics of French academics, he was at an institutional remove from Émile Durkheim
's ambitions for transforming the French university.
Simiand moved further into the administrative apparatus of the French state during World War I
when he left his position as a librarian for work in the Ministry of Armaments where he played a prominent role in making policy. After the war, he served for a year as the Director of Labor for the province of Alsace-Lorraine
. In addition, he took up a more permanent position as a teacher at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
.
A student of Henri Bergson
and Émile Durkheim
, Simiand advanced a view of economics as a social science grounded in observable phenomena rather than convenient assumptions. This would imply a large program of historical and statistical research. Joseph Schumpeter
, who denied the existence of a French or an Italian Historical School despite the historical current evident in their economics, acknowledged the significance of Simiand's contributions. In Schumpeter's view, Simiand should be considered a French Institutionalist.
Simiand's views on scope and method, which appear in La Méthode positive en science économique (1911), were applied in his studies of real wages, money and long economic cycles. They were applied in criticism of the work of contemporary economists, as well.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and economist
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
best known as a participant in the Année Sociologique. As a member of the French Historical School of economics
Historical school of economics
The Historical school of economics was an approach to academic economics and to public administration that emerged in 19th century in Germany, and held sway there until well into the 20th century....
, Simiand predicated a rigorous factual and statistical basis for theoretical models and policies. His contribution to French social science was recognized in 1931 when, at the age of 58, he was elected to the faculty of the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
and accepted the chair in labor history.
Simiand's career was unusual. Like many destined to become influential academics in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he entered the École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
and graduated
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the top of his class in 1896. However, he quickly became interested in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and submitted a thesis on the wages of coal miners in France (1904) to the faculty of law rather than becoming an academic. As a result, he foreclosed forever the possibility of a prominent university appointment. Thus in 1901 he became the librarian for the French Ministries of Commerce and Labor, a post he held until the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. From 1910 on he also taught Economic History at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
, an institution which did not require a doctorate from its lecturers.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century Simiand joined the editorial board of the Année Sociologique. He became a central member of the group as editor of the economic sociology section and served as its expert on statistics. At the same time, as someone removed from the politics of French academics, he was at an institutional remove from Émile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
's ambitions for transforming the French university.
Simiand moved further into the administrative apparatus of the French state during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when he left his position as a librarian for work in the Ministry of Armaments where he played a prominent role in making policy. After the war, he served for a year as the Director of Labor for the province of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
. In addition, he took up a more permanent position as a teacher at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers , or National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, is a doctoral degree-granting higher education establishment operated by the French government, dedicated to providing education and conducting research for the promotion of science and industry...
.
A student of Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
and Émile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
, Simiand advanced a view of economics as a social science grounded in observable phenomena rather than convenient assumptions. This would imply a large program of historical and statistical research. Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...
, who denied the existence of a French or an Italian Historical School despite the historical current evident in their economics, acknowledged the significance of Simiand's contributions. In Schumpeter's view, Simiand should be considered a French Institutionalist.
Simiand's views on scope and method, which appear in La Méthode positive en science économique (1911), were applied in his studies of real wages, money and long economic cycles. They were applied in criticism of the work of contemporary economists, as well.
Works
- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Les classiques des sciences sociales: François Simiand. (on line)
- "Méthode historique et Science social" Revue de synthèse historique (1903); re-edited Annales ESC 15, no. 1. París (1960)
- Marina Cedronio, François Simiand: Methode Historique et Sciences Sociales Taylor & Francis (1987) ISBN 2881241883
- Review of Vialles, La consommation et la crise Èconomique, in Année sociologique 7 p. 582 (1902/1903)
- Review of May, Das Grundgesetz der Wirtschaftskrisen, in Année sociologique 7 p. 585 (1902/1903)
- Le salaire des ouvriers des mines de charbon en France Societe Nouvelle de Librarie et D'edition, 1904
- "La causalité en histoire" Bulletin de la Société française de philosophie 6, pp. 245–272, 276-290 (1906)
- http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/texts/pareto/paretosimiand.pdf" M. F. Simiand, Review of Jevons, Pareto and Marshall L'année sociologique pp. 516–45 (1909) New School Net (on line)
- La Méthode positive en science économique (1911); in Critique sociologique de l'économie. Paris, PUF. VI ISBN 2130547567
- Le Salaire: l'evolution sociale et la monnaie 3 vols., Librairie Felix Alcan, París (1932)
- Recherches anciennes et nouvelles sur le mouvement général des prix du VXIe au XIXe siècle Paris, Domat-Montclirctien (1932)
- Les Fluctuations économiques à longue période de la crise mondiale (1933)
- "La monnaie, réalité sociale", Les Annales Sociologiques, série D, fascicule 1 p. 45 (1934); in Critique sociologique de l'économie. Paris, PUF. VI ISBN 2130547567
- La psychologie sociale des crises et les fluctuations économiques de courte durée, Paris, Félix Alcan (1937). Originally published in Annales Sociologiques.
Further reading
- Lucien Gillard et Michel Rosier, François Simiand (1873-1935): Sociologie. Histoire. Economie. Paris, éditions des Archives Contemporaines (1996) ISBN 2884490574
- Robert Marjolin, G. Jaffe, W. Jaffe, "Francois Simiand's Theory of Economic Progress", The Review of Economic Studies Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jun., 1938), pp. 159–171
- http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:AIjsSVPlsy4J:www.u-picardie.fr/labo/curapp/Publications/Lebaron-38_1.pdf+http://www.u-picardie.fr/labo/curapp/Publications/Lebaron-38_1.pdf%27&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=usFrédéric Lebaron, "Bases of a Sociological Economy: From Francois Simiand and Maurice Halbwachs to Pierre Bourdieu" International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, University of Picardie (on line)]
- Carlos Antonio Aguirre Rojas, "La corriente de los Annales y su contribución al desarrollo de la historia económica en Francia" Aportes: Revista de la Facultad de Economia-BUAP VI No. 17, Puebla, México, August 2001 (in Spanish, on line)
- Gérard Noiriel, "L'éthique de la discussion chez François Simiand. A propos de deux conférences sur l'Histoire (1903-1906)", in Penser avec, penser contre. Itinéraires d'un historien, pp. 47–61. Paris, Belin, (2003)
- Jean-Jacques Gislain, La sociologie économique, 1890-1920: Émile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, Joseph Schumpeter, François Simiand, Thorstein Veblen et Max Weber, Presses universitaires de France (1995)