Income inequalities and counteracting them in Sismondi’s views

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine the position of J.C.L. Simonde de Sismondi on the problem of income inequality. Although he was a representative of classical economics, he did not share the opinion of other classicists of the first half of the 19th century, who accepted the system of freemarket capitalism, with the increasing polarisation of society. For Sismondi, the worsening poverty of workers was a significant problem that needed to be solved. Therefore, in his works, he included proposals for reforms that were supposed to eliminate excessive income disparities. He attributed a large role in this regard to the state as an institution that should care for the well-being of all citizens.

The article is theoretical, and based on Sismondi’s original works. His opinions on income inequalities and proposals for reforms, which were ahead of their time and did not have the conditions to be introduced in the first half of the 19th century, were analysed. Capitalism had to see the changes that workers have been fighting for for many years, forcing employers through strikes, and often with their own blood, to improve their living conditions. The article also uses the works of contemporary economists and historians of thought on this topic. Therefore, the source analysis method, the comparative method and the simple description method were used.

The conclusions in the summary, based both on the works of Sismondi and contemporary authors, clearly emphasise the originality and different position of the French classicist in relation to the approach of other representatives of classical economics to this important problem. Hence, some authors classify Sismondi as a petty-bourgeois trend, while many also note the relevance of his opinions.