Entre avril et juin 2008, le prix des commodités (blé, maïs, riz) a atteint un niveau impressionnant, mais pas exceptionnel. Les populations de 48 pays ont été affectées par une sévère sous-alimentation. La plupart d’entre eux avait déjà été affaiblie par des conflits et des catastrophes naturelles inhabituelles et dramatiques. Ces facteurs ont souvent interagi pour aggraver la situation. Pourtant, si la crise de 2007-2008 a été un «problème extraordinaire», c’est aussi parce que la connaissance scientifique «normale» a échoué face à la complexité de la «poly-crises» alimentaire (Morin, 2011). En réponse, nous avons conçu un cadre épistémologique, méthodologique, et technique, à partir de deux approches face à la complexité, celles de Hayek (1899-1992) et de Simon (1916-2001), avec un objectif, satisfaire au critère de cumulativité, un reproche traditionnellement adressé à ce type d’approche. Ce travail a produit deux enseignements. Premièrement, les fondements épistémologiques de la production de la connaissance en économie doivent être révisés en environnement complexe et incertain: 1) du certain/de l’objectif vers l’incertain/le subjectif; 2) de la prédiction exacte vers la conception; 3) de la causalité linéaire inappropriée, ou pire, menaçant la liberté individuelle, vers une causalité complexe. Deuxièmement, dans le processus d’adaptation, le rôle de la production et du partage de la connaissance «tacite» est central. Pour cette raison, le problème économique n’est plus un problème d’allocation des ressources. Il est de savoir comment des êtres humains aux capacités cognitives «limitées» computent et socialisent (Nonaka et alii, 1994, 2001) la connaissance et l’information disponibles, mais dispersées, pour la convertir en heuristiques ou patterns favorisant l’adaptation. Deux autres hypothèses les renforcent : 1) les dynamiques du changement s’enracinent «dans la pensée et la créativité des gens impliqués dans des situations complexes et dans leur capacité à restructurer leurs propres modèles d’interactions», (Ostrom, 2011) ; 2) l’altruisme réciproque (Simon, 1992, 1993) est un comportement rationnel qui peut être plus efficient dans les interactions sociales en environnement complexe que le comportement maximisateur ou égoïste. Ces résultats ont été synthétisés dans une interface que nous avons créée et qui a pris la forme d’une boucle de la connaissance à deux allèles, une pour la connaissance générique, l’autre, pour la tacite, qui, par récursion, produisent une méta-connaissance. Cette interface est à la fois ouverte et fermée et reflète ainsi la position défendue par Hayek et Simon pour qui la science économique est une «science frontière». Une part de la recherche est consacrée à la création d’outils, par exemple à un indicateur de perception de la contribution des facteurs au déclenchement et/ou à l’aggravation de la crise, à partir : 1) des allocutions des 138 Chefs d’État et de Gouvernement présents à la Conférence de Haut Niveau sur la Sécurité alimentaire mondiale (3-5 juin 2008) ; 2) des analyses des économistes, 3) des témoignages des gens qui ont subi la sous-nutrition ou la hausse des prix des denrées alimentaires (database IRIN). Nous proposons également une typologie actualisée des policy-mix mis en œuvre par 18 pays divisés en 3 groupes : des pays en développement, pour la plupart importateurs nets, sévèrement touchés par la crise et qui ont connu des «émeutes de la faim» (Égypte, Tunisie, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Sénégal, Mauritanie, Haïti, Bangladesh) ; des pays Membres du groupe de Cairns ayant connu soit des «émeutes de la faim», soit des désordres sociaux (Indonésie, Philippines, Thaïlande, Afrique du Sud) ; enfin, des pays ayant adopté des restrictions et/ou prohibitions aux exportations (Chine, Inde, Indonésie, Égypte, Cambodge, Ukraine, Vietnam) [...]. / Over the April-June 2008 period, prices of the commodities such as wheat, maize, rice and vegetable oils, reached impressive yet not exceptional peaks. By contrast, the populations of 48 countries were stricken by severe under nutrition. Most of them had already been weakened not only by conflicts, social disorders, dramatic and unusual climatic and natural disasters, but also by outbreaks, epizooties, and population displacements. In some cases, all these factors together played a significant role in the worsening situation. However, another important reason could be advanced to explain why the 2008 food crisis was an “extraordinary problem”. This one is that “normal” scientific knowledge was defeated by the complexity of what it appears now as a food “poly-crises” (Morin, 2011). We answered by designing an epistemological, methodological, and technical knowledge base from two very different and alternative economics approaches of facing complexity. The first is the Hayekian approach (1899-1992), and the second, the Simonian approach (1916-2001). The research intends to fulfill cumulativity criteria, traditionally difficult to satisfy with the ones of complexity. From the following analysis we mostly learned two things. First, epistemological grounds of economics needed to be broken in complex environment(s): 1) from certainty/objectivity to uncertainty/subjectivity, 2) from accurate prediction to design, 3) from linear causality deemed inappropriate or, worse, threatening people freedoms, to complex causality. Second, in the adaptation process, the role of “tacit” knowledge production and sharing is central. For that reason, the core of economics problem is not allocation of resources anymore. Now, the main problem for humans whose cognitive capacity are “bounded” is to compute, to “socialize” (Nonaka et alii, 1994, 2001), available but dispersed information and knowledge and to converse them into heuristics or patterns allowing the adaptation to complex and uncertain environment(s). Two others auxiliary hypotheses –E. Ostrom (2011) will endorse them later- can be drawn from that preliminary work: 1) the dynamics of change rooted “in the thinking and in the creativity of people involved in complex situations and their capacity to restructure their own models for interactions”, 2) reciprocal altruism (Simon, 1992, 1993) is a rational behavior which can be more effective in/for the social interactions in complex environment(s) than maximizing or selfish behavior. To present preliminary results in an effective way, we created a very simple interface scheme. It takes the form of a three-dimensional knowledge loop with two strands, “generic” and “tacit” knowledge connected between themselves to produce by recursion a meta-knowledge. We made the choice of the interface because it reflects with the most accuracy the position defended by Hayek and Simon which is that economics is a frontier science. Moreover, the interface has the advantage of being both open and closed. A part of the research is more specifically dedicated to design tools increasing the understanding of the “polyfood” crises. We elaborated a three-level indicator with: 1) perceptions of the contribution of each factor to the outbreak and the worsening of the situation; 2) contributions of actors to the explanation of the food crisis proposed in 2008. It was developed from: 1) a case study comparing and contrasting explanations proposed a) in their statements by 138 Heads of State and Government attended the High Level Conference on World Food Security (3-5 June 2008), b) in their analyses by economists, c) in their testimonies by people hit by under nutrition/rising food prices (database IRIN); 2) a new and more updated typology focused on the responses addressed by 18 countries split into 3 groups [...].

By means of the experimental oral double auction markets, this thesis shows that the Hayek hypothesis might not be valid when uncertainty is introduced into the markets. More precisely , our experimental results evidence that the efficiency loss increases as the degree of uncertainty increases. Furthermore, as our convergence analyses suggests, the flat sup of the efficiency and the flat inf of the P-Q norm in Experiment 1, the experiment without uncertainty, seems to reflect the market behavior characterized by rational expectations or rational learning. On the other hand, the decreasing sup of the efficiency and the increasing inf of the P-Q norm in Experiment 2, the experiment with uncertainty, seems to reflect the market behaviour characterized by bounded rationality or animal spirits. Therefore, a phase transition from rational expectations to animal spirits might be parameterized by the degree of uncertainty. These findings have important implications for the current controversy on bounded rationality in macroeconomics. They also reflect the limitation of using the method of certainty equivalence in treating uncertainty when the market is regarded as parallel distributed processors rather than a central unit processor.

O presente trabalho analisa como o economista austríaco Friedrich August von Hayek estrutura sua teoria da justiça, identificando a realização do ideal de justiça numa sociedade livre com a vigência do Estado de Direito, ou seja, do governo das normas gerais de conduta justa, que deverão ser aplicadas sempre visando a igualdade formal (isonomia). Ainda, discute os motivos pelos quais o autor considera que a liberdade individual só poderá efetivamente florescer em uma ordem espontânea, que funciona baseada na concorrência, a qual só poderá se manter onde vigore o Estado de Direito e, portanto, haja justiça formal. / The present paper analyzes how the economist Friedrich August von Hayek structures his theory of justice, identifying the accomplishment of the ideal of justice in a free society with the Rule of Law, that is to say, in the government of rules of just conduct, which must be applied always aiming at the equality before the law (isonomia). Besides, this paper discusses the reasons why the author considers that liberty can effectively flourish only in a spontaneous order that performs based on competition, which will be maintained where the Rule of Law stands and, therefore, the formal justice is present.

This thesis deals with the theory of moral sentiments as put in Adam Smith's work. The thesis reflects the legacy of Adam Smith and enlightened sentimentalism as whole in field of contemporary philosophy and sociological science. Hence the thesis gives attention to misinterpretations of Smith's work, to his economical heritage with emphasis on Hayek's elaboration of the theory of spontaneous order (which has foundation in the notion of the "invisible hand") and also to his legacy in political philosophy. Here the thesis introduces particularly the debate on reflective autonomy, which is crucial for the lining of fundamental features of the disagreement between rationalistic and sentimentalistic account of the origin of morality, and tries to advocate the significance of sentimentalistic claims in todays society. The aim of this thesis is to convince the reader that the aspects of our mind, which the theory of moral sentiments and sentimentalism emphases and which are rather overlooked or devalued in todays world, are absolutely necessary in public debate.

O presente trabalho analisa como o economista austríaco Friedrich August von Hayek estrutura sua teoria da justiça, identificando a realização do ideal de justiça numa sociedade livre com a vigência do Estado de Direito, ou seja, do governo das normas gerais de conduta justa, que deverão ser aplicadas sempre visando a igualdade formal (isonomia). Ainda, discute os motivos pelos quais o autor considera que a liberdade individual só poderá efetivamente florescer em uma ordem espontânea, que funciona baseada na concorrência, a qual só poderá se manter onde vigore o Estado de Direito e, portanto, haja justiça formal. / The present paper analyzes how the economist Friedrich August von Hayek structures his theory of justice, identifying the accomplishment of the ideal of justice in a free society with the Rule of Law, that is to say, in the government of rules of just conduct, which must be applied always aiming at the equality before the law (isonomia). Besides, this paper discusses the reasons why the author considers that liberty can effectively flourish only in a spontaneous order that performs based on competition, which will be maintained where the Rule of Law stands and, therefore, the formal justice is present.

This dissertation presents the results of research focused on the Austrian business cycle theory (ABCT). The main part of the thesis is an econometrical test of five predictions based on ABCT. I used data on the US economy for period 1967 - 2016, which is the longest time period covered in the Austrian empirical literature so far. Since one of the most important variables for ABCT is so called interest rate gap (the difference between market interest rate and natural interest rate), I use three alternative models of this variable. The results of my empirical tests predominantly confirm theoretical predictions of ABCT. It can be shown that the interest rate gap influenced the relative structure of economic activity and resource allocation in a way predicted by ABCT. I also investigate whether the interest rate gap does have a significant impact on stock market valuations (in terms of aggregate level or relative structure), although the results are mostly statistically insignificant. In addition I also described several possible new distortions which may emerge due to unconventional monetary policy. I argue that these distortions should be of primary interest for researchers engaged in the Austrian research program. I devoted special attention to the specifics of monetary policy regime in Japan, where the Bank of Japan regularly intervenes on the stock market. Another theoretical contribution can be found in the second chapter where I respond to the White's (1999) claim that Hayek implicitly repudiated his own version of ABCT in later part of his career, when proposing free competition in money production. I attempt to show that White's conclusion stems from an inadequate interpretation of Hayek's writings. Finally I provide an alternative interpretation of Hayek's work that reveals the compatibility of his early and late theoretical contributions.

This thesis aims to broaden the discussion about the origins of some of the fundamental theoretical sources for Hayek’s ideas regarding freedom and the state. It focuses on the debates between the Austrian School of Economics and the German Historical School of Economics, as well as the works of Popper, Mill, Humboldt and Hegel in order to identify their positive and negative influences on Hayek’s views of freedom and the state. The originality of the thesis relates to the examination of Humboldt’s political philosophy in terms of its influence over the formation of the components of Hayek’s account of freedom, such as spontaneous order, the rule of law, the role of the state, and the nature of human knowledge. These components have assisted in Hayek’s efforts to prove the superiority of open societies over totalitarian regimes. The thesis explains that Hayek’s intellectual collaboration with Popper played a significant role in identifying many enemies of open societies. Both theorists agreed that historicism was a method commonly used and promoted by the enemies of open society; specifically, they accused Hegel of promoting historicism and, as a result, of being an enemy of open societies. However, this thesis disputes these accusations and argues that Popper and Hayek did not possess adequate knowledge of Hegel’s theoretical work to make such claims. In actuality, Hegel was not an enemy of open societies, he recognized the potential devastating outcomes associated with them and sought solutions. The thesis also explores the idea that Mill was also worried about the detrimental features of industrial capitalism and, as a result, attributed a prominent role to “state activity” in securing the conditions of positive freedom. Hayek, meanwhile, viewed such forms of state interference as obstacles to attaining freedom. This thesis examines the topic whether or not Hayek actually sought to formulate a genuine form of freedom or if he merely valued freedom as a tool for the promotion of open societies over centrally planned economies.

Le modèle classique de la finance (Markowitz, Sharpe, Black, Scholes, Fama) a, dès le début, été remis en cause par le mathématicien Benoît Mandelbrot (1924-2010). Il démontre que la loi normale ne correspond pas à la réalité des marchés, parce qu’elle sous-estime les risques extrêmes. Il faut au contraire utiliser les lois de puissance, comme la loi de Pareto. Nous montrons ici toutes les implications de ce changement fondamental sur la finance, mais aus-si, ce qui est nouveau, en ce qui concerne la gestion des entreprises (à travers le calcul du coût des capitaux propres). Nous tentons de mettre à jour les raisons profondes de l’existence des lois de puissance en économie à travers la notion d’entropie. Nous présen-tons de nouveaux outils théoriques pour comprendre la formation des prix (la théorie de la proportion diagonale), des bulles (la notion de réflexivité), des crises (la notion de réseau), en apportant une réponse globale à la crise actuelle (un système monétaire diversifié). Toutes ces voies sont très peu, ou pas du tout exploitées. Elles sont surtout, pour la pre-mière fois, mises en cohérence autour de la notion de loi de puissance. C’est donc une nou-velle façon de comprendre les phénomènes économiques que nous présentons ici. / The classical model of finance (Markowitz, Sharpe, Black, Scholes, Fama) has, from the be-ginning, been challenged by the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010). It shows that the normal distribution does not match the reality of the market, because it underesti-mates the extreme risks. Instead, we must use the power laws, such as the Pareto law. We show the implications of this fundamental change in the finance, but also in the manage-ment of companies (through the calculation of cost of capital). We try to update the underly-ing reasons for the existence of power laws in economics through the concept of entropy. We present new theoretical tools to understand price formation (the theory of diagonal proportion), bubbles (the notion of reflexivity), crisis (network concept), providing a com-prehensive response to the current crisis (a diversified monetary system). All these ways are very little or not at all exploited. They are mostly for the first time, made consistent around the notion of power law. This is a new way of understanding economic phenomena present-ed here.

Les principes néolibéraux fondés sur la mise en concurrence des individus les uns contre les autres ont contribué aux profonds bouleversements du monde du travail depuis les années 1970, autant dans ses dimensions objectives (conditions de travail) que dans ses dimensions subjectives (rapport au travail). Michel Foucault et plus tard Pierre Dardot et Christian Laval ont fait l’analyse de la généalogie de la pensée néolibérale, construisant l’idée qu’un « sujet néolibéral » allait émerger, dont la caractéristique serait l’adoption d’un ethos entrepreneurial. À l’aide d’entrevues semi-dirigées, le terrain d’analyse de la représentation pharmaceutique fut sélectionné, car il a été jugé particulièrement propice à l’émergence d’un tel ethos, alors que les entreprises de cette industrie encouragent l’adoption d’initiatives entrepreneuriales. L’analyse du corpus d’entretien a permis l’émergence de trois ethos idéal-typiques, soit « le compétitif », « la carriériste » et « le familial ». Ces ethos ont illustré la diversité des rapports au travail que nous pourrions retrouver dans la société québécoise. Ce travail de recherche permet d’avancer les réflexions critiques sur le néolibéralisme et ses répercussions sur notre rapport individuel et collectif au travail. / Neo-liberal principles based on competition between individuals against each other have contributed to the profound changes in the world of work since the 1970s, both in its objective dimensions (working conditions) and in its subjective dimensions (relationship to work). Michel Foucault and later Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval analyzed the genealogy of neo-liberal thought, constructing the idea that a "neo-liberal subject" would emerge, whose characteristic would be the adoption of an entrepreneurial ethos. Using semi-structured interviews, the field of analysis of pharmaceutical representation was selected because it was deemed particularly conducive to the emergence of such an ethos, as companies in this industry encourage the adoption of entrepreneurial initiatives. The analysis of the interview corpus led to the emergence of three ideal-typical ethos, namely "the competitive", "the careerist" and "the family man or woman". These ethos illustrated the diversity of relationships at work that we could find in Quebec society. This research work makes it possible to advance critical reflections on neoliberalism and its repercussions on our individual and collective relationship to work.

Le néolibéralisme, un terme qui désigne couramment la raison d’état contemporaine, est largement associé à un désinvestissement de l’État pour la cause sociale ainsi qu’à un discours de légitimation des disparités socio-économiques. Il s’agit, pour plusieurs, d’une idéologie qui ne considère pas la justice comme un idéal collectif à poursuivre. Un retour sur certains penseurs à qui l’on attribue la formulation des idées néolibérales permet toutefois de constater que la justice fut, au sein de leurs travaux, l’un des thèmes majeurs. L’objectif général de ce mémoire est donc de présenter la conception de la justice chez deux penseurs du néolibéralisme : le journaliste américain Walter Lippmann et l’économiste autrichien Friedrich A. von Hayek. Cette perspective comparée me permettra d’identifier ce que je nomme la «conception néolibérale» de la justice, conception qui s’articule à partir d’une compréhension singulière du marché. Dans le premier chapitre, je présente le problème central de la conception néolibérale de la justice, en abordant la posture épistémologique privilégiée par Hayek et Lippmann. Dans le deuxième chapitre, je présente certaines modalités de cette conception et soulève ses principales apories. Je soutiens aussi qu’une rupture survient entre Hayek et Lippmann autour de la notion de «responsabilité». Finalement, je compare la conception néolibérale de la justice avec la conception libertarienne présentée par Nozick. C’est à partir des critères de justice respectifs de chaque théorie que j’avance la distinction, au troisième chapitre, entre les deux conceptions pourtant similaires. Contrairement à une analyse courante qui fait du néolibéralisme un projet amoral, je soutiens que la reconnaissance de la dimension morale du discours néolibéral ouvre une fenêtre à partir de laquelle il devient possible de critiquer le projet sur des bases éthiques. C’est en identifiant la notion de justice à l’oeuvre dans le discours néolibéral contemporain et en l’inscrivant dans la tradition morale présentée dans le cadre de ce mémoire que nous sommes mieux à même de comprendre l’idéologie du néolibéralisme. / Neoliberalism, a term commonly used to describe the current paradigm of the state, is largely related to a disengagement of the state from issues of social welfare and is associated with the legitimization of socio-economic inequalities. For many critics, it also represents an ideology that does not consider justice as a collective ideal that should be pursued. This stands in contradiction with the fact that justice was a central theme in the works of many thinkers to whom we attribute the formulation of neoliberal thought. Considering this paradox, the main purpose of this Master’s thesis is to expose the conception of justice as expressed by two key neoliberal thinkers: the American journalist Walter Lippmann and the Austrian economist Friedrich A. von Hayek. This comparative perspective will allow me to single out what I call the "neoliberal conception" of justice, a conception that builds on a particular understanding of the market. In the first chapter, I present the central challenge of the neoliberal conception of justice by broaching the epistemological stance common to Hayek and Lippmann. In the second chapter, I present specific properties of this conception and discuss its principal blind spots. I also show that Hayek and Lippmann disagree when it comes to the notion of "responsibility". Finally, I compare the neoliberal conception of justice with that of libertarians, as presented by Robert Nozick in his work Anarchy, State and Utopia. In this third section, I argue that Hayek and Nozick’s respective criteria of justice drive a wedge between two otherwise rather similar conceptions. In contrast to a standard analysis that treats neoliberalism as an amoral project, I contend that recognition of the moral dimension of neoliberal discourse opens up a perspective from which it becomes possible to challenge the project on ethical grounds. Understanding the idea of justice underpinning contemporary neoliberalism, as rooted in the moral tradition presented in this essay, is necessary if we are to criticize this ideology on moral grounds.