Bernard Maris

Bernard Maris was a French economist, writer and journalist who was also a shareholder in Charlie Hebdo magazine. He was murdered in January 2015, in the Charlie Hebdo shooting at the headquarters of the magazine in Paris.

Graduated from Sciences Po Toulouse in 1968, Bernard Maris then earned a doctorate in economics at the University of Toulouse I in 1975 with the thesis entitled 'The personal distribution of income: A theoretical approach to balanced growth', prepared under the direction of Jean Vincens. Assistant Professor (then senior lecturer from 1984) at the University of Toulouse I, he became Professor of the universities by contest of aggregation (General economic science) in September 1994 at the Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse.

At the time of his death, he was a professor at the Institute of European studies of theUniversity of Paris-VIII. He also taught microeconomics at the the University of Iowa in the United States and the Central Bank of Peru.

Journalism[edit]

Bernard Maris wrote for various journals: Marianne, Le Nouvel Observateur, Le Figaro Magazine, Le Monde and Charlie Hebdo, in which he spent most of the time under the alias of "Uncle Bernard". In this last journal, he was the Deputy Editorial Director until 2008.

As the founder, during the renaissance of the title in 1992, he was an 11% shareholder.

On the radio, Bernard Maris had a weekly column entitled J'ai tout compris à l'économie, each Saturday on France Inter, and took part each Friday in a debate on a topical economic issues with the economic journalist of Les Échos, Dominique Seux, from 7:50.

He also presented on television, on the i-Télé channel where he participated as a columnist in Y'a pas que le CAC, where he commented with another professor of Economics, Philippe Chalmin (close to the neoclassical school), on the economic news until June 2009. He also intervened repeatedly in the program C dans l'air on France 5.

Associative and political life

Bernard Maris was often presented as anti-globalization, because of his ex-participation with the Scientific Council of ATTAC.

He was an inhabitant of 16th arrondissement of Paris, and presented himself in 2002 at the elections in the 10th arrondissement of Paris under the label of Greens, to which he militated.

Novelist

Bernard Maris published several novels including L'enfant qui voulait être muet, and was awarded with the Leclerc's booksellers award in 2003.

Family

He was married to Sylvie Genevoix, a journalist and a former member of the CSA, who died on 20 September 2012.

Work in economics

Maris was a great admirer of John Maynard Keynes, to whom he devoted a book, Keynes ou l'économiste citoyen and has published many popular economics books. It is known, inter alia, by titles such as Ah Dieu! Que la guerre économique est jolie! (1998), Lettre ouverte aux gourous de l'économie qui nous prennent pour des imbéciles (1999) and La Bourse ou la vie (2000).

With incisive style, he tried to understand the nature and the interests of the real economy, unveiling its negative aspects, but highlighting the concepts and alternatives such as "free"and the "gift and counter-gift", which are, in his eyes, of significance.

Le Nouvel Économiste magazine assigned him the title of "best Economist of the year", in 1995.

Bank of France

On 21 December 2011, Jean-Pierre Bel, president of the Senate, appointed him member of the general Council of the Banque de France.

Quote

On the euro zone, Bernard Maris is thus expressed in Charlie Hebdo, December 15, 2010:

"Myself, I think there will be a new financial crisis, the eurozone will burst, that Europe is balkanized - she is already balkanized. But a number of events arisen over the last ten years were not predictable: the financial crisis, could it really be foreseen? The Twin Towers?"

Publications

Economy

• Éléments de politique économique: l'expérience française de 1945 à 1984, 1985
• Des économistes au-dessus de tout soupçon ou la grande mascarade des prédictions, 1990
• Les Sept Péchés capitaux des universitaires, 1991
• Jacques Delors, artiste et martyr, 1993
• Parlant pognon mon petit, 1994
• Ah Dieu! Que la guerre économique est jolie!, 1998 (ISBN 2-226-09574-8), co-authored with Philippe Labarde
• Keynes ou l'économiste citoyen, 1999
• Lettre ouverte aux gourous de l'économie qui nous prennent pour des imbéciles, 1999
• La Bourse ou la vie - La grande manipulation des petits actionnaires, 2000, co-authored with Philippe Labarde
• Malheur aux vaincus: Ah, si les riches pouvaient rester entre riches, 2002 (ISBN 2-226-13146-9), co-authored with Philippe Labarde
• Antimanuel d'économie: Tome 1, les fourmis, Bréal, 2003 (ISBN 2-7495-0078-8)
• Antimanuel d'économie: Tome 2, les cigales, Bréal, 2006 (ISBN 2-7495-0629-8)
• Gouverner par la peur, 2007 (ISBN 978-2-213-63287-2), with Dakhli Leyla, Roger Sue,Georges Vigarello
• Petits principes de langue de bois économique, 2008 (ISBN 9782749501499)
• Capitalisme et pulsion de mort, 2009 (ISBN 2-226-18699-9), co-authored with Gilles Dostaler
• Marx, ô Marx, pourquoi m'as-tu abandonné? Éditions Les Échappés, 2010 (ISBN 978-2-35766-022-9)
• Plaidoyer (impossible) pour les socialistes, Albin Michel, 2012 (ISBN 978-2226240200)