The foundations of justice in Jules Dupuit's thought

Abstract

The ongoing interpretation of Dupuit's conflict with the French liberal school on the question of justice consists of a simple opposition between public utility and natural rights. This paper aims to show that Dupuit's position is far more complex: justice is based on welfare�-�and thus on public utility�-�although natural rights are not excluded from his scheme. An understanding of Dupuit's concept requires a clarification of the differences between three notions�-�public interest, welfare and public utility�-�and, by the same token, of the factors linking each notion to the others.Jules Dupuit, justice, general interest, welfare, the School of Paris,

Redistribution and indirect effects of transport policy and projects in Jules Dupuit's thought

“…In previous works (Poinsot, 2010(Poinsot, , 2011, I have shown that for Dupuit the welfare of society depends on wealth and the level of population. To increase the welfare of society, the legislator has to raise wealth, which is all goods and services that satisfy human needs.…”

“…On the basis that laws are enforced to maximize the welfare of society, he argues 6 Dupuit [(1855), p. 564;(1861a), p. 583;(1862a)]. For a discussion of this point, see Poinsot (2010) and [(2011), pp. 69].…”

“…For him, the latter is not a natural right and should be allocated according to public utility. See Poinsot (2010Poinsot ( , 2011Sagot-Duvauroux [(2002a), (2002b, (2016)]; Sigot (2010) and Vatin (2002). 8 For instance, Dupuit rejects corporations because they lead to the decrease of both civil liberty and the welfare of society (Ibid., pp.…”

Jules Dupuit and the Railroads: What Is the Role of the State?

“…Dupuit only recommends taxing all members of society (users and non-users) for roads because this cannot be achieved fairly and economically. For more details, seePoinsot (2010; 2011, pp. 141-146).…”

“…For a more detailed examination of Dupuit's conception of public interest, seePoinsot ( 2010Poinsot ( , 2011. 7 See section III .…”