‘A solitary precursor of modern mathematical economics’ (Gilles, p. 19) - in a most handsome near contemporary binding.
Submitted as a prize essay, and crowned by the academy, the thesis argued “that everything, which has exchangeable value, derives its value from the quantity of labour employed upon it. As there are different qualities of labour, however, Canard does not think that the quantity of labour, which could ideally serve as a measure of the exchangeable value, could in fact serve to determine the price. For this reason, he argues, one must fall back to the market to discover the determinants of price. The actual level of price will be determined by the relation of the force of the sellers to that of the buyers” (Theocharis, pp. 67-8). Canard’s work was “subject to severe criticism by 19th-century economists such as Cournot and Walras. Only in this century one has rediscovered the significance of the contributions of Canard in the development of modern general equilibrium analysis” (Gilles, p. 19). Canard’s re-evaluation in the 20th century also included his recognition of anticipating Ricardian marginal analysis (Theocharis, p. 75).
Perhaps because he was not a professional economist, Canard met with resentment from his French contemporaries, yet exerted some influence, including on Sismondi, and, despite his criticisms, on Cournot himself. Outside France, Canard’s influence was greater, this work going through three editions in German and also translated into Spanish and Italian.
Provenance: neat mid-nineteenth contemporary ownership inscription ‘O.M. Bjornstjerna’ in black ink to front pastedown, likely the Swedish diplomat Oscar Magnus Fredrik Björnstjerna (1819-1905) who served as the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1872 to 1880.
Einaudi 830; Goldsmiths’ 18122; Kress B.4350.
