Lebret’s method and epistemological perspective for ‘human economy’ and ‘harmonized human development’

ABSTRACT This article discusses L.-J. Lebret’s methodological and epistemological approach for the elaboration of the concepts of ‘human economy’ and ‘harmonized human development’. Both concepts were very important for Lebretian theory and practice, in the decades of the forties through sixties of the last century, because they redirected economics towards placing the human person at the center of the economy. Significant as they were, the concepts were understandably conditioned by the political and cultural traits of the time, as was Father Lebret himself. This leads us to put our main emphasis on Lebret’s method and his epistemological perspective, in order to show the continuing relevance of his contribution to the scientific analysis of society, as opposed to contributions to very concrete and particular issues. Lebret’s continuous insistence on knowledge of the real conditions of life of the population in a territory sets the starting point for his method of analysis and transformative action. The approach lies far distanced from attempts that privilege abstract models over real-life economics to understand socioeconomic problems.