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This paper is intended to show that the framework of Capital which starts with the statement of the labour theory of value in volume I and ends with the production prices in volume III does not correspond to the heuristic movement of Marx's thought. By reversing the order of exposition, it appears that the Marxian theory of exploitation, and more particularly the mechanism of the absolute surplus- value, whereas they seem to stem from the labour-value theory, are in fact independent of it. This rereading allows to show that the opposition between Marx and Ricardo lies in their different interpretations of a production price system, based on two conflicting analyses of the wage relation.

The "classical" interpretation of Marx's theory considers that values are determined by technological conditions, independently from the market, and that concrete labors are agregated via relative wages. According to this interpretation, Marx's theory is valid only if the value composition of capital is uniform in all branches. This article shows that if this "classical" interpretation is accepted, Marx's theory is not compatible with any viable technique owing to the possible inexistence of a positif wages structure permitting the agrégation of the different qualities of labor in order to obtain the homogeneous labor vector that the labor theory of value requires.

This paper will show that the current historical and analytical interpretations of Quesnay's theory of the liberalization of grain trade has major shortcomings. The first point will focus on the historical roots of Quesnay's analysis. Then, I will present the mechanism of the equalization of grain's market prices which allowed a raise of the farmer's net revenue without making the consumer pay for it. According to the commentators, the liberalization by making the competition tougher for the middle-men (traders) brings down their profit to zero. Nevertheless, this interpretation lacks textual evidence. It will be shown that Quesnay's writings leave the door open for another interpretation of the mechanism which does not consider the role of the trader. It is based on the idea that Quesnay's theory of liberalization relies on two different arguments - the equalization of prices and the raise of the corn's market price in the normal year - which he calls merely, and mistakenly, "equalization of prices".

This article gives an interpretation of Quesnay's economic and political writings founded on the concept of natural order defined in "Évidence" (Quesnay 1756a). First, it shows that this concept leads Quesnay to conceive the desire of wealth as a sociable passion. Then, it brings out how the concept of natural order leads Quesnay to unite theory of law and economics, until then reduced to political arithmetic, and thus to construct its political economy. This article shows that thanks to the concept of natural order, Quesnay explains that the increase of agricultural wealth is the necessary and sufficient condition to protect any forms of property. It stresses the point that Quesnay's originality is to found this proposition on a definition of an economic link - the theory of net product relying on the "bon prix" - between wealth and property. This article enlightens, thus, the emphasis that Quesnay puts on real estate and its defence of legal despotism.

This paper focuses on the impact of technical progress on growth in the framework of a vintage capital model. This structure of capital allows for creative destruction, in the sense that the obsolescence of capital results from embodied technical progress in new equipments. The rate of growth is endogenous in Harrod-Domar's way and depends on a rate of technical progress which remains exogenous, contrary to what happens in endogenous growth theory. The model reduces to a system of linear differential-difference equations. Under a certain level of technical progress, the rate of growth is asymptotically constant. Above it, the model oscillates around a stationary state. Even if its impact is positive in a partial equilibrium context, an increase in the rate of technical progress has a negative impact on growth in a general equilibrium framework.

La théorie monétaire de Bentham, telle qu'elle apparaît dans le manuscrit Sur les prix (1801) met l'accent sur la notion de confiance, élément clef dans la détermination de la valeur du papier-monnaie. Il en résulte une analyse qui s'intéresse de manière prioritaire à la nécessité d'éviter à la fois les banqueroutes et l'inflation : l'article reconstruit alors la position de Bentham pour mettre en place un système monétaire sain, c'est-à-dire un système tel que le volume de monnaie soit proportionné aux besoins de la circulation, aux réserves des banques et à la quantité de monnaie métallique qui circule.