Ernest Labrousse

Camille-Ernest Labrousse (1895 - 1988) is a Historien French, specialist in the economic and social Histoire.

Biography

Born on March 16th, 1895 with Barbezieux, in Charente, in a family of craftsmen, Ernest Labrousse studies the history with the Sorbonne while following in particular the courses of Aulard, is interested in the political economy when it prepares its in 1913. After the interruption of the war, it is registered with the Faculty of Law in 1919 because its subject of thesis, the revolutionary social legislation of 1789 to year III , obliges it to fork towards this die. However, in 1926, it reorientates its work while returning to the economic history itself. Thus, come from the political economy to the history while passing by the right - he is lawyer - Ernest Labrousse built a destiny of completely original historian.

Labrousse, in a very personal way, also remained also all its life a very active socialist militant. Journalist with Humanity, member with the Socialist party since 1916, it joined the PCF after the Congrès of Turns to turn over to SFIO in 1925. Member of PSU to beginning of the year 60, it definitively leaves the political arena in 1967 without giving up neither his Marxist ideal, nor the defense of the Human rights. Influenced by its engagements, Labrousse cannot, for this reason, being classified like a full member of the school of Annals, even if it owes with Marc Bloch his nomination as director of studies with the IV° section of the Practical École of the High Studies in 1938.

Come late in history, Labrousse however will play a very important part in the evolution of French historiography, in particular when it decides to be devoted, under the influence of François Simiand with the economic history. Published in 1933, its " Outline trend of prices and incomes in France with the XVIII° siècle" carries out an irreversible scientific change in this field, in particular by the rigorous rules which it imposes on its method of research. This one will be used even as example in other fields of historical analysis (demography, phenomena sociocultural etc).

Succeeding Marc Bloch with the Sorbonne after the war (it occupies the pulpit of economic and social history then), Labrousse publishes in 1944 its most famous work, the " Crisis of the French economy at the end of the Old Mode and the beginning of Révolution" . It shows there in a masterly way that the history of the prices is inseparable from the social history because " the price of the bread is the compass of the fabriques" . This study emphasizes the sequence of the crises of subsistence (which one describes as traditional model of crisis of the Old Mode) but also their reflect on industry (by the variation of the request and the back surge, with the fall, on the volume of employment).

Labrousse durably directed the historical research towards the social history (cf the volume of homage which was offered to him, " Economic conjuncture and structures sociales" , 1975). It developed a model of analysis on the three levels: economic, social and mental. It is in fact the inventor of the serial and quantitative history, statistical method now applied in many work of economic history. Ernest Labrousse influenced this way a whole generation of researchers in France and abroad (Cliométrie). Its studies, true work of Sisyphus, unfinished for a good portion, taking into account average the techniques limited of the time when they were started, knew an increase in prospect when the computer came to the rescue from the historian.

Succeeding in 1982 Albert Soboul the presidency of the Yearly histories of the French revolution, known as " Company of the studies robespierristes" founded by Mathiez in 1907, it ensures this load until its death.

Sources

G. Boob, H. Martin, historical schools , Threshold, 1983.

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