Contenu du sommaire : Contribution de l'histoire à la connaissance du milieu économique et social

Summary What means can be use ring to the example gh-en it consisted in placing in the .lp of the same class the political power the economic poiwer and the social power theory of the three powers tightly bound to one another The great Frendi bourgeoisie had perfectly understood and ut this interdépendance into practice for about half century since the Mon;n chy of July But of course it encountered some obstacles Tiie most notable ones were first the birth of class consciousness which by turns appeared iu the middle classes the proletariate and much later in the rural world Afterwards the extension of electoral rights was another obstacle When thi right to vote is given to millions of people the bourgeoisie risks to become minor element The bourgeoisie must then use compensating effect to counterbalance the inflnence of proceeding factors The compensating effect should assume various forms The efficiency of action on the electoral regime and of perfecting techniques is dimi nishing more and more One twill then appeal to customers and to alliances but neither one of them is perfectly dependable moreover it is necessary in pay them Finally ihe political game which is an extremely compli cated one in France comes into play in triangular form as result of the numerical equality of the three present coalitions in spite of the small number of its members the great bourgeoisie has been able to retain notable share of the p

SUMMARY In present perspectives of historical studies we cannot talk about ocia history although .history of classes or of swial groups and history of the social movement especially of the woi-kc movement do exist But all history is s As Mr Renouvin showed in the preface of Ristori of nte rnationni Relations which he teaches we can no longer siitisfy ourselves by simply studying the relations of chancellories to one another We ought to look for the profound canses The latter belongs to rwo orders of phenomena eco nomic factors and movements of collective psychology To understand the rwo categories it is necessary to study the groups which have used pres sure on the Decision Maker: interest groups ideologic groups and groups thîir combine the two tendnncles The personal action of men who are at rh top of the ladder -- action that we should neither minimize nor eli minate takes place then In necessary social context The task is thus to discover all rs md to measure relative force

Summary It is often said that France had liberal economic regime in the 19th century In fact tilis liberalism is quite relative State intervention first came into play when it established protectionist policy that the Frendi middle class hay not ceased to demand Liberalism means that workers are forbidden to group or to organize themselves in the form of coalitions and strikes but employers associations are tolerated The term liberalism was used to disguise tlie main worry of the ruling classes the maintenance of their profit State intervention is always requested when profit is in danger

SUMMARY If historians gain from frequenting economists the latter might benefit from applying na historical mind to the study of economic facts The sl is notably represented in economic life through the channel of certain data concerning collective psychology It is facfc derived from experience tliat people reveal different qualities and unequal aptitudes in their work Do the difference constitute the expression of temperaments predestined by nature The explanation by temperaments only assumes the existence of scientific certitudes Experience shows that these differences have become more and more pronounced The peoples have evolved into what they arp today Their national temperaments are the products of collective expe rience Let us consider the French example Certain characteristics of the French psychology its relation to economic activity are the consequences on one hand of social structure based on social tradition rather than on proflt-seeiking and on the other hand of the classical education incul cating the antiquated conception of the natural superiority of liberal arts to practical training What is the product of history may also be modined by It

SUMMARY Ii ve admit that antagonism may exist between diverse social catego ries we should not try to explain all by the bourgeoisie-proletariate duality although it may appear to be the determinative factor To choose the most characteristic example of this duality that history could offer the one of which experience was decisive in establishing the doctrine which owes crystallization to it the social aud professional composition of the individuals who participated in the insurrection of June 1848 holds certain surprise Let us first consider the barricade In the national guard were employers employees shopkeepers intellectuals members of the pro fessional classes but also many dependent workers In the mobile guard were young Parisian workers In the army was the young peasantry On the other hand the manual workers whether employers or employees mostly of provincial origin cani to Paris either to climb tiir social ladder or to excape from losing their six ial positions While professional agree ments based on wage determination have multiplied since February and iwhile employers have tried to free their workers who had been arrested violence has constantly dominated between renters and owners and con cerning the latter their testimony and denounciation were equivalent to condemnation Tlie struggle between workers uid shopkeepers the reci procal hostility between the city and country tlie conflict between different generations the tension between individuals as bet ween classes constituted many subjacent contradictions to the opposition between the bourgeoisie and the proletariate which took on character of declared antagonism in 1848 on the occasion of repression directed specially against the wage- earners who were doing manual labour

The economic outlook iii the united States continues to determine the economic destiny of the world The recent American boom is to certain extent not unliki the golden prosperity of the 19120s This may lead some to believing that the world faces another great depression number of differences ma ces such conclusion hasty on The volume of stock market speculation failed to reach irs earlier pro portions Tlie recurring phenomeu of overproduction in the ngricultural sector is checked today by the state con rolled farm price policy Also lacking is the high degree of entanglement of the international short-term credits of the early thirties Last but not least the government expended share of riie national income basically Independent of the cyclical has gnwn two and nnlf times as compared with 1929 These differences alone are not en4gh to justify favorable prognosis for the American and world economy Business flnctn;iti.ons are Lu-gely psychologically conditioned self remforcins process capable of causing decline apart form any outside influences Nevertheless we are right in assuming that American prosperity will remain stable on its high level it is because the administration hiis not only the necessary nm-c1epressiou means at its disposal but also the will to use them Nevertheless the European nations should gird for small Iluctnations isolated cyclical movements as they appear for example in the cons truction sector as well as for obstacles on their foreign markets origi nating in the conflict of groups of interests or pertaining to the market disorders of individual industries regions