The Molinari Project

Introduction

Places to Begin

1. David M. Hart, “Molinari, Gustave de (1819-1912)”, Encyclopedia of Libertarianism (Cato Institute, 2008), pp. 336-37. [Online elsewhere].
2. My short biography: “A Brief Biography of Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912)” [HTML].
3. My longer biography: “Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912): A Survey of the Life and Work of an “économiste dure” (a hard-core economist)” [HTML]. This essay was originally written as the introduction to an anthology of Molinari’s writing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1819: The Bicentennial Anthology of the Writings of Gustave de Molinari on the State (1846-1911) (2023 edition). It can be found [Online here] – the items are in French.
4. “A Chronology of the Life and Works of Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912)” [HTML]
5. My “Introduction to a new Translation of Molinari’s A Sketch of the Political and Economic Organisation of the Society of the Future (1899)” in [HTML]
6. Liberty Matters discussion: No. 3: Roderick Long, “Gustave de Molinari’s Legacy for Liberty” (May 2013) [Online elsewhere].

Bibliography of his Works

1. “The Works of Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912)” in the form of a sortable table [HTML]. It contains 44 stand alone books, 8 Introductions or Prefaces he wrote for other books, 3 Journals he edited, 17 Pamphlets which were reprints of journal articles, and 249 Articles he wrote for magazines and journals. The latter are predominantly for the Journal des Économistes, beginning with the first one published in January 1847 (A018) “De l’agriculture en Angleterre” (English Agriculture). It should be noted that he was the editor of the JDE from 1881 until a few years before his death. The list also includes articles he wrote very early in his career for journals such as La Revue générale biographique, La Nation, and Le Courrier français. The major gap is the material he wrote over many decades for the Journal des Débats and which he also edited. The articles and editorials he also wrote for his magazine L’Économiste belge in the 1850s and 1860s also have not been listed separately (see item J01). He also wrote 5 biographical articles and 25 “principle articles” for the DEP (1852-53) which make a sizeable book in their own right.

Anthologies

1. Gustave de Molinari, The Bicentennial Anthology of His Writings on the State (1846-1911). Edited and with Introductions by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). [HTML]. The extracts are in French but each one is preceded by my introduction which is in English. This file just contains the Introductions in English [HTML]
2. Gustave de Molinari, The Collected Articles from the Dictionnaire de l’Économie politique (1852-53). Edited by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). It contains 5 biographical articles and 25 “principle articles”. There is a version in the original French [HTML] and another is my translation [HTML].
3. Gustave de Molinari, Thoughts on the Future of Liberty (1901-1911). Edited by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). The articles are in French. [HTML]

Translations

1. Gustave de Molinari, “On the Production of Security”. A translation of “De la production de la sécurité,” Journal des Économistes Vol. XXII, no. 95, 15 February, 1849, pp. 277-90. [HTML]
2. Gustave de Molinari, Soirées on rue Saint-Lazare: Discussions about Economic Laws and a Defence of Property. Translated and edited by David M. Hart (Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]
3. Gustave de Molinari, The Collected Articles from the Dictionnaire de l’Économie politique (1852-53). Edited and translated into English by David M. Hart (March, 2025 draft). [HTML]
4. Gustave de Molinari, Political Evolution and the Revolution. Translated and edited by David M. Hart (Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]
5. Gustave de Molinari, Revolutions and Despotism considered from the Perspective of Material Interests (1852). Translated by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]
6. Gustave de Molinari, The Greatness and Decline of War. Edited and translated by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]
7. Gustave de Molinari, A Sketch of the Political and Economic Organisation of the Society of the Future. Edited and translated by David M. Hart (Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]
8. Gustave de Molinari, Thoughts on the Future of Liberty (1901-1911). The English language edition. Edited by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2025). [HTML]

Important Books in enhanced HTML

1. Gustave de Molinari, Les Soirées de la rue Saint-Lazare; entretiens sur les lois économiques et défense de la propriété (Paris: Guillaumin, 1849). [HTML]
2. Gustave de Molinari, Les Révolutions et le despotisme envisagés au point de vue des intérêts matériels; précédé d’une lettre à M. le Comte J. Arrivabene, sur les dangers de la situation présente, par M. G. de Molinari, professeur d’économie politique (Brussels: Meline, Cans et Cie, 1852). [HTML]
3. Gustave de Molinari, L’évolution économique du XIXe siècle: théorie du progrès (Paris: C. Reinwald 1880). [HTML]
4. Gustave de Molinari, L’évolution politique et la Révolution (Paris: C. Reinwald, 1884). [HTML]
5. Gustave de Molinari, Grandeur et décadence de la guerre (Paris: Guillaumin, 1898). [HTML]
6. Gustave de Molinari, Esquisse de l’organisation politique et économique de la société future (Paris: Guillaumin et cie., 1899). [HTML]

Articles and Papers by me

1. “Gustave de Molinari (1819-1912): A Survey of the Life and Work of an “économiste dure” (a hard-core economist)” (2018) [HTML].
2. “The Struggle against Protectionism, Socialism, and the Bureaucratic State: The Economic Thought of Gustave de Molinari, 1845-1855” (2016) [HTML]
3. “Was Molinari a true Anarcho-Capitalist?: An Intellectual History of the Private and Competitive Production of Security”. A paper presented at the Libertarian Scholars Conference, NYC (Sept. 2019). [HTML]
4. “Gustave de Molinari and The Seven Musketeers of French Political Economy in the 1840s” (2015) [HTML]