Moral philosophy and economics: the formation of François Huet's doctrine of property rights

François Huet (1814–1869), Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ghent, is known for his attempt to reconcile Christianity with socialism in Le Règne Social du Christianisme (1853). The book clearly belongs to a distinctively Belgian tradition of ‘liberal socialism’. Drawing upon archival material, we try to clarify the origins of Huet's theory of property rights. We focus on two intimately related questions: (1) Have the core ideas formulated by Huet in Le Règne been expressed and discussed before the publication of the book? (2) In what sense have reflections upon the science of economics contributed to Huet's views?