Frédéric Lordon
Frédéric Lordon (born 15 January 1962) is a French economist and philosopher, CNRS Director of Research at the "Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique" in Paris. He is an influential figure in France's Nuit debout movement. Education. Lordon studied at the "École nationale des Ponts et Chaussées", and received his degree there in 1985. He graduated from the "Institut Supérieur des Affaires" in 1987. Career. Lordon teaches at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, in Paris. He has served since 2004 as a director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific  Research (CNRS). Work. Lordon's work is an attempt to integrate Spinoza's concepts, such as conatus, into the study of political economy. As a participant in the current crises of capitalism, he debates publicly in France, proposing ostensible solutions. He is a member of "" ("Appalled Economists"), a group of economists formed in 2010 who reject mainstream economics' positions, such as the efficient-market hypothesis, etc. An early observer of the subprime mortgage crisis, he proposed the implementation of a tax he nicknamed SLAM, for Shareholder Limited Authorized Margin, the effect of which would be to limit profits so that  profit making ventures in the real economy are not determined "only by the interests of the stock exchange market." Lordon played an instrumental role in the rise of the Nuit debout movement. He wrote a piece in the February 2016 issue of "Le Monde diplomatique" on François Ruffin's film, "Merci patron!", describing the film as a clarion call for a potential uprising. This prompted Ruffin to organise a public meeting which led to the organisation of the public occupation of Paris's Place de la République on 31 March 2016. Lordon spoke at the 31 March protest, highlighting the  goals of disparate protest movements. He never talked to national media about his role in the movement, explaining that he did not wish to be seen as the leader of a leaderless movement.