Œconomia (Mar 2018)
Quelques apologues relatifs à la théorie du capital et de l’intérêt
Abstract
Why do economists tell us stories? To explain to us? To convince us? To demonstrate the proposals, they put forward? To try to answer this question, we will study the apologues that John Rae, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk and Maurice Allais used to explain their theories of capital and interest. Rae believes that only invention creates, that it is therefore the source of the wealth of nations. To show it, he explains the knowledge that an Indian must have to build a hut protecting him from the weather. Böhm-Bawerk argues that well-chosen roundabout methods of production increase labour productivity. He illustrates this idea by showing how a peasant, devoid of everything, can satisfy his water needs. Allais wants to discard the idea that capital productivity and our preference for present explain why interest is always positive. To defend his thesis, he studies a small community of fishermen whose age and health differ. It will be argued that if these economists have used fiction, it is because the issues they were dealing with are complex, and to understand them, it is necessary to start with the study of simplified economies, which can be presented in the form of an apologue.
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