The classical foundations of population thought : from Plato to Quesnay
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The classical foundations of population thought : from Plato to Quesnay
Springer, c2010
Available at 10 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-171) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Whereas the history of demography as a social science has been amply explored, that of the construction of the concept of population has been neglected. Specialists systematically ignore a noteworthy paradox: strictly speaking, the great intellectual figures of the past dealt with in this book have not produced demographic theories or doctrines as such, but they have certainly given some thought to population at both levels. First, the central epistemological and methodological orientation of the book is presented. Ideas on population, far from being part of the harmonious advancement of knowledge are the product of their context, that is evidently demographic, but also economic, political and above all intellectual. Then the ideas on population of Plato, Bodin, the French mercantilists, Quesnay and the physiocrats are examined under this light. The last chapter addresses the implicit philosophical, economic and political issues of population thought.
Table of Contents
1: Interpreting Ideas on Population.- 2: History and Utopia.- The Platonic City.- The Demography of the City.- Religion and Politics.- Space and Order.- Moderation and Excess.- A Totalitarian System?.- 3: There are no Riches other than Men.- Jean Bodin on Sovereignty.- Demographic Interpretations of Jean Bodin.- The Theory of Absolute Sovereignty and Population.- Bodin on Aristotle and Plato.- 4: The Prince and his Population.- From Montchretien to Colbert and Fenelon.- Merchantilism and Populationism.- About Population.- A National Economic Policy.- International Trade and the Colonies.- The Decline of Merchantilism: Political and Economic Factors.- For Want of Political Arithmetic.- 5: The Political Failure of an Economic Theory.- Quesnay and the Physiocracy.- Agriculture and Prosperity.- On population.- A failure and its Causes.- 6: Towards Demography.- The Prince, The Father , The Landlord.- The Conflict of Interests.- The Emergence of Individualism.- From Homo Eoconomicus to Homo Demographicus.- Bibliography.- Index
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