Quotes by Gustave de Molinari
1819 – 1912
Gustave de Molinari was born in Liège on March 3, 1819 and died in Adinkerque on January 28, 1912. He was the leading representative of the laissez-faire school of classical liberalism in France in the second half of the 19 th century and was still campaigning against protectionism, statism, militarism, colonialism, and socialism into his 90s on the eve of the First World War.
Bio
As he said shortly before his death, his classical liberal views had remained the same throughout his long life but the world around him had managed to turn full circle in the meantime.
See also our collection of extracts, essays, and other resources on Molinari.
See the Liberty Matters online discussion of Gustave de Molinari’s Legacy for Liberty
For additional information about Gustave de Molinari see the following:
- A working draft of Liberty Fund’s translation of Les Soirées de la rue Saint-Lazare (Evenings on Saint Lazarus Street) (1849).
- Other essays by or about Molinari.
Molinari featured as the March 2022 OLL Birthday. Read it here
Parties & Elections
Gustave de Molinari argues that political parties are like “actual armies” who are trained to seize power and reward their supporters with jobs and special privileges (1904)
Socialism & Interventionism
Molinari appeals to socialists to join him in marching down “the broad, well-trodden highway of liberty” (1848)
Property Rights
Molinari defends the right to property against the socialists who want to overthrow it, and the conservatives who defend it poorly (1849)
Class
Molinari on the elites who benefited from the State of War (1899)
Free Trade
Molinari calls the idea of using tariffs to promote a nation’s economy “a monstrosity” (1852)
Rhetoric of Liberty
Molinari on mankind’s never-ending struggle for liberty (1849)