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Jean-Baptiste Say

Original nameJean-Baptiste Say

French classical economist, author of "Say’s law"

The First to Read "Where Wealth Comes From" · The Birth of Economics
Classical EconomicsSay’s LawFranceSupply

Who they are

A French classical economist, the most important spreader of Adam Smith's free-market thought on the European continent. He put forward the famous 'Say's law,' often summarized as 'supply creates its own demand' — meaning that the act of production itself creates an equal purchasing power, so that from the whole economy's view, general overproduction cannot persist and the market can clear itself. This law became a cornerstone of classical economics' optimistic faith, dominating the field for over a century, until the Great Depression of the 1930s brought Keynes's assault on it — Keynes made the overturning of 'Say's law' almost the starting point of his whole theory.

Primary sourcesSay, A Treatise on Political Economy

Key stories

A Law Shattered by the Great Depression

'Supply creates its own demand' — Say's law let classical economists believe the market always balances itself and cannot slump for long. Yet in the 1930s, factories piled high with unsellable goods while the streets teemed with jobless who could buy nothing — general overproduction stood plainly before all eyes. Keynes seized on this contradiction, overturned Say's law, and argued that 'insufficient demand' was the root of the crisis — a law that had ruled for a century, shattered by one Depression.

Relationships

Ally
⚖️David Ricardo　both representatives of classical economics on the continent and in England

Echoes today

Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.

"Say’s law" and Keynes’s target"Supply creates demand" — Say’s law ruled classical economics for a century, then became the chief target Keynes overturned in the General Theory; the "supply side vs. demand side" debate is still central to macro policy.
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