Debates on slavery and the development of economic thinking: About the book “Calculation and Morality” by C. Oudin-Bastide and Ph. Steiner

Denis V. Kadochnikov
Saint Petersburg State University; ICSER Leontief Centre, Russia, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TERRA ECONOMICUS, 2024, Vol. 22 (no. 4),

p. 151-159
DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2024-22-4-151-159

The paper reviews the book “Calculation and Morality. The Costs of Slavery and the Price of Emancipation (XVIII–XIX centuries)” / “Calcul et morale. Coûts de l’esclavage et valeur de l’émancipation (XVIIIe–XIXe siècle)” by Caroline OudinBastide and Philippe Steiner, published in Russian in 2024. The authors address the history of French debates on slavery. They examine attempts to assess the economic efficiency of slavery, as well as discussions about the need for and ways to free slaves and restructure the labor market and economy in French colonies. Given that slavery has been a key economic pillar of Western European colonial empires for a long time, it’s not surprising that this topic was among the most widely discussed issues when the discipline of political economy was emerging. Oudin-Bastide and Steiner examine the rhetoric and arguments used by both supporters and opponents of slavery in the XVIII–XIX centuries. They show how economic estimates and calculations gradually gained popularity among both sides as an important addition to traditional moral arguments. This shift was due to the secularization and rationalization of morality in Europe during the Enlightenment Age. Furthermore, political economists were inspired by the progress in natural sciences, which they saw as a model for their own field. In their effort to prove their point of view and refute the arguments of their opponents, participants in the debates on slavery contributed to the development of the conceptual framework and methodological tools for economic analysis. Based on a wide range of sources, the book by Oudin-Bastide and Steiner gives an interesting description of a significant episode in economic history and the history of economic thought. It also provides a comprehensive account of the factors that drive the development of social, economic, and political thought and the underlying logic behind it.

Citation: Kadochnikov D.V. (2024). Debates on slavery and the development of economic thinking: About the book “Calculation and Morality” by C. Oudin-Bastide and Ph. Steiner. Terra Economicus 22(4), 151–159 (in Russian). DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2024-22-4-151-159

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Keywords: slavery; morality; economic analysis; France; colonies

JEL codes: B1, B41

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Publisher: Southern Federal University
Founder: Southern Federal University
ISSN: 2073-6606