Denis, who was influenced by Proudhon and Comte, advocated an organic understanding of society based on the positivist view. For him, socialism was a phase in the process of social development rather than an endpoint. Hector Denis thought that social oppositions could be reconciled over time.
(1842-1913) Belgian sociologist and economist. He defended the concept of an organic society. He was born in Braine-le-Comte and died in Brussels. He was a professor of ethics and political economy at the University of Brussels and president of the International Institute of Sociology. Hector Denis, who was a member of the Belgian House of Representatives for 20 years of his life, led the socialist group there until his death. He wrote articles in magazines such as La liberte, Rive gauche and Revue de philosophie positive.
Hector Denis (29 April 1842 – 10 May 1913) was a Belgian politician, economist, sociologist and university professor.
Denis, who was influenced by Proudhon and Comte, advocated an organic understanding of society based on the positivist view. For him, socialism was a phase in the process of social development rather than an endpoint. Hector Denis thought that social oppositions could be reconciled over time.
Denis published Histoire, first in 1897, then expanded and published in two volumes between 1904 and 1907. In his work des systemes economiques et socialistes (“The History of Economic and Socialist Systems”), he summarized the views of thinkers such as Hume, Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Sismondi, Owen, and Thompson.
Denis, who is also closely interested in economic issues, wrote in his work La depression economique et sociale et l'histoire des prix (“Economic and Social Depression and History of Prices”), published in 2 volumes in 1895, that instead of explaining economic depressions based on a single reason, there are many factors that can lead to depression. He examined the factor statistically and focused on the consequences that could be caused by the increase in fixed capital supply.
Denis, who also had extensive knowledge of financial issues, tried to create a general theory on public finance and taxation in his work titled L'impot ("Tax"), published in 1889.
According to him, increasing satisfaction of social needs by the state will lead to an increase in public expenditures.