Jean-Baptiste Say

Jean-Baptiste Say was a French economist and businessman who argued in favor of competition, free trade and lifting restraints on business. He is best known for Say's law —also known as the law of markets—which he popularized. Scholars disagree on the surprisingly subtle question of whether it was Say who first stated what is now called Say's law. Moreover, he was one of the first economists to study entrepreneurship and conceptualized entrepreneurs as organizers and leaders of the economy. Say was born in Lyon into a Protestant family that had moved from Nîmes to Geneva after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was intended to follow a commercial career and in 1785 he was sent with his brother Horace to complete his education in England. He worked briefly for an insurance company and then as a journalist. In 1794 he became an editor of a new magazine dedicated to the ideas of the French Revolution. He later worked under Mirabeau on the Courrier de Provence. In 1793, he married Julie Gourdel-Deloches, who came from a wealthy family. They had two children, Horace Emile and Adrienne. Say devoted himself to writing and publishing his economic views. In 1803, he published his principal work, the Traité d'économie politique ou simple exposition de la manière dont se forment, se distribuent et se composent les richesses (Treatise on Political Economy or Simple Exposition of the Way in which Wealth is Formed, Distributed and Consumed). In this work, he expounded the doctrines of Adam Smith and introduced his own law of markets, which states that supply creates its own demand. He also emphasized the role of the entrepreneur as a risk-taker and innovator who contributes to economic growth and social progress. Say was also involved in various entrepreneurial ventures, such as cotton spinning, mining, banking and publishing. He faced many difficulties and failures in these enterprises, which made him aware of the practical challenges of business. He also taught political economy at various institutions, such as the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, the Collège de France and the Athénée Royal. He influenced many students and followers, such as Jean-Baptiste Chevalier, Charles Comte, Charles Dunoyer and Frédéric Bastiat. Say was a liberal who advocated for free trade, limited government intervention, individual rights and religious tolerance. He opposed mercantilism, protectionism, socialism and imperialism. He was a critic of Napoleon Bonaparte and supported the constitutional monarchy of Louis XVIII. He was also a friend and correspondent of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin. Say died in Paris on November 15, 1832, at the age of 65. He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. His treatise on political economy was translated into many languages and became a standard textbook in Europe and America. He is regarded as one of the founders of the classical school of economics and one of the precursors of marginalism and neoclassical economics.