Charles Comte
Charles Comte (1782-1837) (François-Charles-Louis Comte) was a French lawyer, journalist and political writer. In 1814 he founded, with Charles Dunoyer, Le Censeur, the liberal journal. In 1820, he was found guilty of attacks against the King and fled first to Switzerland and then to England. In England he became acquainted with Jeremy Bentham. In 1825 he returned to France. In 1827 he published the book that made his name and earned him a Montyon Prize. The book was Traité de législation (4 volumes, in-8) (A Treaty of law) which outlined laws governing the development of companies and the reasons why development might be held back. As an economist he followed the doctrines of Jean-Baptiste Say whose daughter he married. In 1832 he was elected to the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.[1]
Quotes
Some quotes give a good feel for his work.[2] “Newspapers could be of great utility, but the great importance which they attach to simple literary discussions, the indifference they have for anything which smacks of legislation, and the habit they have acquired of adulation (of the government), prevents one from hoping that they will busy themselves in enlightening citizens of their true interests. What they do not do, I propose to undertake.” (Journal des économistes, June 1846, vol. XIV, p.271)
“The revolution which brought about in France the fall of the Imperial government, without changing at all the direction of my ideas, forced me to choose a means of publication different from that which I had at first proposed. It seemed to me that in treating in succession questions of politics or legislation which circumstances threw up I would achieve my aim most surely and promptly. Observations applied to those events which one witnesses have greater impact than those observations made from a distance. The freedom to publicly present one's opinions, which the previous government had completely destroyed, was eventually proclaimed and it was imperative to take advantage of it. Because it is the same of liberty and power, one runs the great risk of losing it if one does not seize it the very instant when it appears.” (Traité de législation, 3rd ed, p. xiii)
References
- ^ Charles Comte on French Wikipedia
- ^ http://www.onpower.org/quotes/c.html
Sources
- http://homepage.mac.com/dmhart/FrenchClassicalLiberals/Comte/Comte-BioBibliography.html
- Charles Comte on French Wikipedia
- The Dictionary Bouillet.