The Social and Cooperative Economics of the Associationnistes: from the Criticism of the Foundations of Political Economy to the Social Regulation of the Market

This article aims to present and discuss the main theses defended by the Associationistes, a founding school of social and cooperative economics in France. These theorists (Louis Blanc, Auguste Ott, Philippe Buchez) develop a criticism of the functioning of their society, starting from a reflexion on the foundations of the classical political economy. Today, their thought is topical on three levels: concerning the methodology of political economy with the oft discussed separation between positive and normative science; on the right to work by association and the question of the collective ownership; and finally on the nature of the social regulation of the market.