European management teaching and research: Reflections on the life and work of A. Blanqui

摘要

Europe's first historian of political thought, author of the preface to The Wealth of Nations, and also the first figure to acquire a business school in his lifetime and become its dean, Adolphe Blanqui (1798-1854) has nevertheless become a somewhat neglected figure. As we approach the bicentenary of the school he presided - the oldest of the great 19th century management training institutes, which still exists today - in this essay I propose to place his life and work in context before exploring the principal thrust of his educational philosophy and his lasting heritage. Blanqui was a great European, devoted to certain principles in the education of future entrepreneurs and 'traders': combatting ugliness, learning how to deal with difference, and leading by example while also keeping pace with technical evolutions. I conclude by insisting on the importance, then and now, of situating management training within the context of geopolitical, aesthetic and ethical factors. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.