The Physiocrats

“The most arrogant [men] that do exist” – David Hume, Scottish philosopher and economist.

François de Quesnay Mirabeau, Snr.

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot

CONCLUSION

By Alon Douek

François QuesnayPublished : •‘Tableau Économique’ (1758).

Leader of the French physiocrats.

French court doctor at time of publication of the Tableau Économique.

1694-1774

Major ideas:A surplus for the finances of France can only be achieved through agriculture.

"To secure the greatest amount of pleasure with the least possible outlay should be the aim of all economic effort." – François Quesnay.

Tableau Économique•Laid the foundations for the Physiocratic economic theories.

•Stated that trade and industry were not sources of wealth.

•Argued that a surplus was only achievable through agriculture.

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PhysiocracyDerived from the Greek phýsis (nature) and kràtos (power).

Believed that only agriculture produced a true surplus.

Stated that manufacturing balanced out inputs with outputs, resulting in a profit of nil. Therefore, the Physiocrats argued that manufacturing should not be protected by tariffs, the granting of monopolies or any government intervention on behalf of the manufacturing industry.

The Physiocrats had some thoughts in common with other Enlightenment thinkers.

Believed that the best economic system came from laissez-faire.

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Laissez-faire

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A system of economic freedom that allowed the economy to grow freely according to it’s capacity, without interference from an external body.

This interference included the corvée, the octrois, monopolies and others.

“He governs best who governs least” – Slogan of the Physiocrats

Without laissez-faire, farmers were unable to sell their produce to the highest bidder. This increased support for the Physiocratic ideals leading up to the revolution.

Effects of Physiocracy on the Revolution

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• The ideals of the Physiocracy were of a great benefit to the financial situation of the poor Third Estate, due to their desire to do away with:

The corvée, the abolition of which would allow members of the Third Estate to work for an extra two weeks, thereby earning more money.

The octrois, the abolition of which would allow the Third Estate to retain more of their money by not having to pay for inter-regional customs and trading taxes.

Guilds and corporate monopolies over grain purchasing, the abolition of which would allow the Third Estate farmers to sell their grain for a higher price.

The financial ideals of the Physiocracy inspired many of the Third Estate to question the current taxation and financial control systems, which in turn led to protests against other topics of injustice, such as the unfair social privilege system.

What did the Physiocrats have in common with other Enlightenment thinkers? Believed there was an ordre naturel, a social order determined by natural law and created by God.

Believed in a ordre positif, a social order which was determined by human ideals, like organisation of society by humans rather than by nature.

The goal of statesmen should be to harmonise with the natural with the natural order by abolishing institutions that interfered with it.

Voltaire

Montesquieu

Rousseau Back to Physiocracy

Agriculture

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Prior to, and even after, the Revolution, France was a mainly agricultural nation. Due to the fact that about 99% of the entire population were of the Third Estate, and 85% of those were peasants (who worked mainly on farms), a bad year of crops could result in severe problems for all of France, especially members of the Peasantry. This is because most peasants lived at subsistence level, and could not afford, nor cope with, a bad harvest. A bad harvest would also affect the First and Second Estates, and would impact considerably on the country’s financial situation.

Victor de Riquetti, Marquis de Mirabeau Father of the French revolutionary, Mirabeau.

French economist and Physiocrat.

1715-1789

Published:•Testament Politique (1747)•Utilité des États Provinciaux (1750)•L'Ami des Hommes (1756)•Théorie de L'impot (1760)

“Nothing is impossible to the man that can will.” – Victor de Riquetti.

These words seem to foreshadow the revolution.

Manufacturing

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6% of the population of France were urban workers, who worked in factories and workshops and resided in urban environments. These urban workers were almost exclusively poor, mainly because of the poor organisation and capabilities of urban manufacturing and production in France at the time. For example, in Britain (where the Industrial Revolution was occurring), there were:

• 20,000 spinning jennies (for production of yarn) to the 1,000 in France.• 200 textile mills to the meagre 8 in France.

The lack of textile mills was a major problem at the time, as the manufacturing of textiles was one of the major market areas, especially in regards to international trade.

Anne-Robert-Jacques TurgotBaron de Laune

An early advocate for economic liberalism.

If the land was divided among all the inhabitants of a country… no one would work for another. – Turgot, on the formation and distribution of wealth.

Published:•Lettres sur la tolérance (1753).•Contributed to Diderot’s Encyclopédie (1757).•Mémoire sur les prêts d'argent (1770).• Lettres sur la liberté du commerce des grains (1770).•Réflexions sur la formation et la distribution des richesses (1766)

1727-1781

ConclusionThe Physiocrats were incorrect in their views that manufacturing an trade do not produce a surplus, as they were proven to do so by the late 18th-Century mercantile system. However, this does not mean that their views on the economy were worthless. Due to the theories of the Physiocrats, more of an interest was taken by others of how economics worked, thereby pointing out the weaknesses in the French economy and the poor and inconsistent nature of the agricultural system of the time.

The Physiocrat’s concept of ‘Laissez-faire’ forced ministers under both the ‘Ancien Regime’ and the revolutionary government to attempt to simplify and reform the tax system.

Many of the economic reforms that resulted from the 1789 revolution were influenced by the work of the Physiocrats.

BibliographyAll images were sourced from www.google.com/imghp

Information sourced from:•Liberating France; Fenwick and Anderson, 2010, HTAV•www.wikipedia.org•www.econlib.org•www.fsmitha.com•www.marxists.org

Quotes sourced from:•www.wikiquote.org•www.goodreads.com