Did Durkheim target in the Mill? Durkheim's critique of the claim to the universality of political economy in the light of the work of J. S. Mill

Among all his criticisms towards economists, Emile Durkheim denounces in particular their alleged pretension to establish natural laws. In his view their failure stems from their central assumption of a homo ceconomicus-theorised by John Stuart Mill-which they take for a timeless truth. In this article I argue that this criticism is unfounded in the case of Mill. The latter clearly asserts the relativity of economic laws. The Durkheimian criticism, which is primarily an epistemological one, involves also intimately a political and a moral attack against laissez-faire. But once again, the two authors have a great deal more in common than is frequently realized : Mill is far from being a blind advocate of the market.