452 



PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



we can notice a great difference. Whereas Rousseau 



stood alone, the other and opposite school numbered 



many representatives, enunciated definite principles, and 



27. received a generic name. Central figures in this school 



The "Phys- 

 iocrats." were Quesnay and Turgot, who in the earlier part of 



1 Fra^ois Quesnay (1694-1774) 

 is not the only example of a pro- 

 minent French physician who, after 

 publishing important medical and 

 surgical treatises, turned his atten- 

 tion to other equally important 

 subjects. From 1756 onward he 

 wrote original articles in the ' En- 

 cyclopedie,' the last in 1768, ending 

 his literary activity with mathemat- 

 ical studies. His works were first 

 collected by Du Pont de Nemours 

 with the title ' Physiocratie, ou Con- 

 stitution Naturelle du Gouverne- 

 ment le plus avantageux au genre 

 Humain' (2 vols., 1767-1768). Ques- 

 uay did not invent the theory, but 

 collected the elements contained in 

 previous and contemporary writers, 

 out of which he formed the system 

 and gave it cohesion and rigour, 

 and, by adding new traits, produced 

 something original and effective : 

 " L'analyse du droit naturel comme 

 principe d'une science generale de 

 la politique et de 1'dconomie, la 

 subordination de tous les Elements 

 economiques a 1'element agraire, la 

 theorie du produit net et de 1'impot 

 direct sur les propridtaires, le libre 

 echange, la the"orie du gouverne- 

 ment despotique e'claire', en un mot 

 tout ce qu'il y a d'essentiel et de 

 fondamental dans la doctrine des 

 physiocrates est du a Quesnay. 

 Son influence personnelle a e'te' tres 

 grande, sa place dans 1'historie de 

 1'dconomie politique est consideY- 

 able." (H. Bourgin in 'Grande 

 Encyclopedic,' article "Quesnay"). 



- Robert Jacques Turgot (1727- 

 1781) was a younger contemporary 

 of Quesnay. Before entering on 

 his short but illustrious career as 



one of the great statesmen of the 

 period preceding the Revolution, 

 he had an opportunity of applying, 

 as Intendant of the Gentralitt of 

 Limoges, the physiocratic principles 

 of Quesnay and Gournay to the 

 improvement of a poor and neglected 

 agricultural district, introducing 

 many economic reforms and taking 

 a large view of the social problem. 

 He has, in virtue of his ' Reflexions 

 sur la Formation et la Distribution 

 des Richesses' (1766, ten years be- 

 fore Adam Smith), been considered 

 by some writers to be the real 

 founder of Political Economy, 

 sharing, however, this title of dis- 

 tinction with his elder contempor- 

 aries Quesnay and Jean Claude 

 Gournay (1712-1759). The latter 

 added to the agricultural factor in 

 wealth, exclusively dealt with by 

 Quesnay and Turgot, that of in- 

 dustry and commerce. Both Turgot 

 and Gournay had an extensive 

 practical training and experience, 

 the former through his administra- 

 tive work, first as Intendant and 

 then as Comptroller - General of 

 Finance (see on this especially Lord 

 Morley's Essay on Turgot in 

 'Critical Miscellanies,' vol. ii.) ; the 

 latter through his residence and 

 business travels in Spain, Hamburg, 

 Holland, and England. " Gournay 

 a fourni aux physiocrates leur 

 principe fondamental, le laissez 

 faire, laissez passer. II a emprunte" 

 le principe aux inouvements du 

 commerce international qu'il a tres 

 bien suivis et observes. Mais il n'a 

 pas accept^ le second principe des 

 physiocrates : la terre est le seul 

 e"le"meut de la richesse. II se separe 



