The Coppet Institute (Institut Coppet) is an association, which aims to disseminate books, excerpts or articles on the French classical liberal tradition in political economy.
History of the Institut Coppet
The “Groupe de Coppet”, led by Madame de Stael and Benjamin Constant was at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the first European think-tank dedicated to the study of freedom in all its forms. Its work focused on the problems of establishing a limited constitutional government, the issue of free trade, imperialism and French colonialism, the history of the French Revolution and Napoleon, on free speech, education, culture, the rise of socialism and the welfare state.
The free market has often been wrongly conceived of as a mainly Anglo-Saxon phenomenon This philosophy of freedom has ancient roots, but it has undergone in France a particularly original development. Unlike the English, the French derive freedom from natural rights rather than utilitarianism. They defend free trade in the form of laissez-faire capitalism. They were primary opponents of collectivist, interventionist and protectionist ideas. Historically, the French School prefigures the modern Austrian School.
French excellence in political economy
The thesis of the french economists of the nineteenth century (Bastiat, Molinari, Guyot, etc.) is that socialism and state interventionnism disregard the law. But it was the french economists of the 18th century (Boisguilbert, Quesnay, Turgot) and the Ideologues (Condillac, Say, Destutt de Tracy, Constant) who laid the foundations of this philosophy, and who became a source of inspiration for Hume, Smith, and Jefferson; and then for Menger, Mises, and Hayek.
The Coppet Institute, two centuries after the illustrious “Groupe de Coppet”, wants to help raise awareness about those great precursors. This work of archeology and dissemination includes the use of translated studies or articles in the American institutes and think-tanks where the French intellectual tradition continues to live and grow. Through the Austrian School in particular, many studies have focused, in the last 40 years, on Turgot, Condillac, Destutt de Tracy, Say, Constant, Bastiat and Molinari.
Dear friends
The Coppet Institute needs your help to expand its publications. Support Coppet Institute in the mission of rehabilitation of a forgotten heritage: the French classical liberal tradition. The Institute is a non-political, non-profit, educational organization and accepts no taxpayer money. It is supported solely by contributions from private individuals, foundations, and business.
Contact
Benoît Malbranque, president of the Coppet Institute : benoit.malbranque@institutcoppet.org ; phone : +33 (0)6 89 17 44 84
Editions de l’Institut Coppet : editions@institutcoppet.org
Our Team
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BENOIT MALBRANQUE President of the Coppet Institute Specialist of the French school of political economy , Benoît Malbranque is the author of several books, the latest being Vincent de Gournay : l’économie politique du laissez faire (2016). He is the founder of the review Laissons Faire and of the publishing house éditions de l’Institut Coppet (french website here : http://editions.institutcoppet.org/ ) |
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DAMIEN THEILLIER Honorary President, former President and founding member Professor of philosophy in Paris, Damien Theillier graduated from the Paris-Sorbonne University, and founded the Coppet Institute in 2010. He is co-author of Culture Générale (Pearson) and Un chemin de liberté, la philosophie de l’Antiquité à nos jours (Berg International). He was the president of the Coppet Institute from 2010 to 2015. |
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STÉPHANE COUVREUR Treasurer, founding member A graduate from the Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom Paris, Stéphane Couvreur now works in insurance supervision. He has served as Treasurer since the founding of the Coppet Institute. He is also the translator of Murray Rothbard, État, qu’as-tu fait de notre monnaie ? |
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MARC LASSORT Secretary-general, translation manager Graduate in political science and in economic analysis of law and institutions, Marc Lassort joined the Coppet Institute in 2011 and became secretary-general in 2014. He also manages translations and is in charge of the website. He is also a research fellow at IREF Europe (a think tank specialized in tax issues) and a freelance in translation for various think tanks. |
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DAVID RENAUD-KESSLER Communication manager Specialist in direct marketing and copywriting, David Renaud-Kessler is in charge of the communication of Coppet Institute and of donor relations. |
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LOUIS ROUANET Research-fellow Louis Rouanet is a student at Sciences Po and Research Fellow at the Mises Institute. He is also an active member of Students for Liberty and the director of L think libéral Sciences Po. He is the author of many studies published in Laissons Faire and prefaced the reissue of Michel Chevalier, Les brevets d’invention.
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