The non-neoclassical foundations of protectionism.

Summary The aim of this thesis is to show that Marx and Keynes, through distinct analyses, arrive at the same conclusion, which still makes sense today: the ultimate cause of the crisis lies in excessive competition. The first part of this work deals with the period from Ricardo to Marx. In the first chapter, Ricardo's model and the criticisms that accompanied it are presented. Among his detractors is Marx, whose second chapter shows that his theory can be read as calling for protectionism as soon as his analysis is placed in the context of the survival of capitalism. The second part justifies the existence and demonstrates the validity of Keynesian protectionism. The third chapter establishes Keynes's discovery of the need to propose a safeguarding protectionism and shows that this conclusion has been largely lost sight of in interpretations of his thought. Finally, the fourth chapter, through a circuitist reading of Keynes, warns against the perverse effects of free trade on the two essential components of demand, namely consumption and especially investment.