His action was directed to achieving concrete results, with the definition of objectives and instruments able to impinge on reality. His declared aim, sometimes enounced amidst polemics and disagreements as to the means, was always that of serving the common good.
His cursus honorum shows him to have emerged first as a scholar and teacher of economic history; subsequently, as a political leader, member of the Constituent Assembly, government minister and holder of high positions in State institutions. He was an architect of projects of social reform and promoter of international peace initiatives.