Maurice Block (german: link=no, Moritz Block); 18 February 18169 January 1901) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

- French

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. Block was born in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

of Jewish parents. He studied at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

and the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

and received his doctorate from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

. In the mid-1840s he moved to Paris to become a statistician with the French ministry of agriculture. In 1853 he moved on to the General Statistic service. Beginning in 1856, Block edited ''L'Annuaire de l'economie politique et de la statistique.'' He remained the editor until 1901. Block, along with many French economists of his time, believed that economics was too complex of a subject to be amenable to mathematical techniques. He retired in 1862 and thenceforth wrote predominantly on the topics of agriculture, finance and public administration, turning to criticism of socialism in the 1890s. A prolific writer, he was published in a number of academic and professional magazines and journals of the time. He continued to devote himself to statistical studies as well. He was elected a member of the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

in 1880. He died in Paris on 9 January 1901. His principal works are: ''Dictionnaire de l'administration francaise'' (1856); ''Statistique de la France '' (1860); ''Dictionnaire general de la politique'' (1862); ''L'Europe politique et sociale'' (1869); ''Traité theorique et pratique de statistique'' (1878); ''Les Progres de l'economie politique depuis Adam Smith'' (1890); and wrote in German ''Die Bevolkerung des franzosischen Kaiserreichs'' (1861); ''Die Bevalkerung Spaniens and Portugals'' (1860); and ''Die Machtstellung der europäischen Staaten'' (1862). He wrote several books against socialism : ''Les théoriciens du socialisme en Allemagne'' (1872) ; ''Le socialisme moderne'' (1890). He is the author of the famous distinction between the three political lines : Orleanism, Legitimism and Bonapartism. As Adolphe Franck and Michel Breal, he is one of those Jewish Scholars who attempted to remain neutral during the Dreyfus affair.Marc Crapez, L'Antisémitisme de gauche au 19è siècle, Berg International, Paris, 2002

References

* 19th-century German economists German statisticians French statisticians 19th-century German Jews German emigrants to France Jewish scientists French Liberal School French classical liberals Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques 1816 births 1901 deaths 19th-century French economists {{Germany-academic-bio-stub