first edition
1803 · Geneva
by SISMONDI, Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de
Geneva: Chez J.J. Paschoud, 1803. The First Critic of Industrial Capitalism"
SISMONDI, J[ean] C[harles] L[eonard Simonde de]. De la richesse commerciale, ou Principes d'économie politique, appliqués a la législation du commerce. Geneva: Chez J.J. Paschoud, An XI (1803).
Scarce first edition of Sismondi's important work. Two octavo volumes. [4], lxxxv, [1, blank], 348; [4], 448 pp.
In the original blue paper wrappers with printed paper spine labels (labels defective). Library shelf label at foot of spine. Joints split but firm. A very clean and fresh copy. Uncut and largely unopened. Housed in a red cloth clamshell case.
Born in Geneva, the son of a Calvinist clergyman, Sismondi (1773-1842) was "the first critic of industrial capitalism" (Blaug). "Sismondi's first venture into economics, the two- volume De la richesse commerciale was intended as a systematic exposition of the ideas of Adam Smith. Yet in it Sismondi also pointed out that he was presenting ‘an absolutely new' way of looking at aggregate output changes. Crude arithmetic examples depicted output during a given year as a function of investment during a previous year, and showed how a closed economy differed from an economy with international trade, and how the latter differed when there was an export surplus and an import surplus. Algebraic formulas in his footnotes repeated the same arguments presented arithmetically in the text. But the book was little noticed, and so Sismondi's original efforts produced no contribution to the development of economics" (The New Palgrave).
De la Richesse commerciale "has a number of original features, for example, it includes an early statement ascribing the international exchange of goods to differences in factor endowments and factor prices—England, being plentifully endowed with capital, will import labor-intensive goods, such as lace from France, from countries where capital is relatively scarce and wages low. Sismondi here points the way to doctrinal developments that were bought to full fruition by Ohlin in the twentieth century but were overshadowed during the nineteenth century by the Ricardian doctrine of comparative cost, which was primarily designed to demonstrate the gains from trade" (Spiegel, p. 303).
Theocaris describes Sismondi as the only French author of his time who was considerably influenced by Canard, noting that in the introduction to De la richesse commerciale Sismondi "admitted that many times in the earlier chapters of his book he had nothing better to do than repeat Canard's ideas. He does not, however, imitate Canard in the use of mathematics except once, ‘car appliquer ce langage à une science qui n'est point exacte c'est s'exposer à des erreurs continuelles'. His main attempt at mathematical economics is when he tries to show that in both a closed economy and with foreign trade a country, ceteris paribus, will be progressing, declining or stationary according to the level of wages" (Early Developments in Mathematical Economics (1983), pp. 78ff).
Einaudi 5298. Goldsmiths' 18617. Kress B.4734.
HBS 66553.
$6,000. (Inventory #: 66553)
SISMONDI, J[ean] C[harles] L[eonard Simonde de]. De la richesse commerciale, ou Principes d'économie politique, appliqués a la législation du commerce. Geneva: Chez J.J. Paschoud, An XI (1803).
Scarce first edition of Sismondi's important work. Two octavo volumes. [4], lxxxv, [1, blank], 348; [4], 448 pp.
In the original blue paper wrappers with printed paper spine labels (labels defective). Library shelf label at foot of spine. Joints split but firm. A very clean and fresh copy. Uncut and largely unopened. Housed in a red cloth clamshell case.
Born in Geneva, the son of a Calvinist clergyman, Sismondi (1773-1842) was "the first critic of industrial capitalism" (Blaug). "Sismondi's first venture into economics, the two- volume De la richesse commerciale was intended as a systematic exposition of the ideas of Adam Smith. Yet in it Sismondi also pointed out that he was presenting ‘an absolutely new' way of looking at aggregate output changes. Crude arithmetic examples depicted output during a given year as a function of investment during a previous year, and showed how a closed economy differed from an economy with international trade, and how the latter differed when there was an export surplus and an import surplus. Algebraic formulas in his footnotes repeated the same arguments presented arithmetically in the text. But the book was little noticed, and so Sismondi's original efforts produced no contribution to the development of economics" (The New Palgrave).
De la Richesse commerciale "has a number of original features, for example, it includes an early statement ascribing the international exchange of goods to differences in factor endowments and factor prices—England, being plentifully endowed with capital, will import labor-intensive goods, such as lace from France, from countries where capital is relatively scarce and wages low. Sismondi here points the way to doctrinal developments that were bought to full fruition by Ohlin in the twentieth century but were overshadowed during the nineteenth century by the Ricardian doctrine of comparative cost, which was primarily designed to demonstrate the gains from trade" (Spiegel, p. 303).
Theocaris describes Sismondi as the only French author of his time who was considerably influenced by Canard, noting that in the introduction to De la richesse commerciale Sismondi "admitted that many times in the earlier chapters of his book he had nothing better to do than repeat Canard's ideas. He does not, however, imitate Canard in the use of mathematics except once, ‘car appliquer ce langage à une science qui n'est point exacte c'est s'exposer à des erreurs continuelles'. His main attempt at mathematical economics is when he tries to show that in both a closed economy and with foreign trade a country, ceteris paribus, will be progressing, declining or stationary according to the level of wages" (Early Developments in Mathematical Economics (1983), pp. 78ff).
Einaudi 5298. Goldsmiths' 18617. Kress B.4734.
HBS 66553.
$6,000. (Inventory #: 66553)