Freedom and the state in the age of market economy: French republicanism from Montesquieu to Tocqueville

Freedom and the State in the Age of Market Economy presents a novel history of freedom in early nineteenth century France. It argues that there is a distinct French trend of republicanism that adapts the classical republican conception of freedom to the changing circumstances of post-revolutionary democratic and commercial societies.;Contrary to the main Anglo-American and French scholarship that denies either the existence or the coherence of such a trend, I argue that a set of thinkers usually considered liberal (Constant), socialist (Blanc) or unclassifiable (Sismondi, Tocqueville) articulate an original and coherent idea of freedom as self-development. This social yet agency-centered conception of freedom is conditioned by a political and legal status guaranteeing non-domination, and by the existence of some means and opportunities for its realization.;Modern republicans argue that only social and historical reflection can expose the conditions of freedom in commercial and democratic societies. In modern societies, individuals face dual threats of subjection, both from other individuals as competitors in the market, and from the growing power of the state. Hence post-revolutionary republican thinkers emphasize the importance of participation in the public sphere, deliberation, universal suffrage, associations and freedom of the press as means of safeguarding individual freedom.;Freedom as self-development requires both being protected from dependence and being provided with opportunities. The state and the market are the two factors of emancipation capable of enhancing individual development. Yet modern republicans disagree about the compatibility of markets with republican freedom, and the legitimate extent of state power beyond its role of equal protector against dependence.;By reconstructing this internal dialogue and focusing on their lesser-studied economic writings, I shed new light on Constant and Tocqueville. I argue that they proposed original theoretical tools to support their position: a theory of government neutrality (Constant) and a theory of social intermediary bodies (Tocqueville). I also propose to read Sismondi and Blanc as unfairly neglected interlocutors in these debates. I show how their work on economic regulation and state intervention is pivotal to understanding the originality of early nineteenth century French political thought on the economic and social conditions of freedom in modern societies.