Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot | |
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Louis XVI | |
Preceded by | Marquis de Boynes |
Succeeded by | Antoine de Sartine |
Personal details | |
Born | Quesnay | 10 May 1727
Part of a series on |
Liberalism |
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Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulne
Education
Born in
The first sign of Turgot's interest in economics is a letter (1749) on paper money, written to his fellow-student the abbé de Cicé, refuting the abbé Jean Terrasson's defence of John Law's system. He was fond of verse-making, and tried to introduce into French verse the rules of Latin prosody, his translation of the fourth book of the Aeneid into classical hexameter verses being greeted by Voltaire as "the only prose translation in which he had found any enthusiasm."[6]
Idea of progress
The first complete statement of the
Early appointments
In 1752, he became substitut, and later conseiller in the
In 1743 and 1756, he accompanied Gournay, the
Intendant of Limoges, 1761–1774
In August 1761, Turgot was appointed intendant (tax collector) of the genéralité of
In 1769, he wrote his Mémoire sur les prêts à intérêt, on the occasion of a scandalous financial crisis at
Réflexions
Turgot's best known work, Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth,[12] was written early in the period of his intendancy, ostensibly for the benefit of two young Chinese scholars who had studied in Paris, Louis Ko (Gao Leisi, 1732–1790) and Étienne Yang (Yang Dewang, 1733–98), on the occasion of their return to China.[13][14] Written in 1766, it appeared in 1769–1770 in Dupont's journal, the Ephémérides du citoyen, and was published separately in 1776. Dupont, however, made various alterations in the text, in order to bring it more into accordance with Quesnay's doctrines, which led to a coolness between him and Turgot.[6][15]
In the Réflexions, after tracing the origin of commerce, Turgot develops Quesnay's theory that land is the only source of wealth, and divides society into three classes, the productive or agricultural, the salaried (the classe stipendiée) or artisan class, and the land-owning class (classe disponible). He also proposes a notable theory of the interest rate. After discussing the evolution of the different systems of cultivation, the nature of exchange and barter, money, and the functions of capital, he sets forth the theory of the impôt unique, i.e. that only the net product (produit net) of the land should be taxed. In addition he demanded the complete freedom of commerce and industry.[6]
As minister, 1774–1776
Appointment
Turgot was summoned to the ministry of Louis XVI two months after his accession, and was appointed a month later as Controller-General of Finance. The king even defended the middle-class economist against the reaction of the aristocracy.
On government spending
His first act was to submit to the king a statement of his guiding principles: "No bankruptcy, no increase of taxation, no borrowing." Turgot's policy, in face of the desperate financial position, was to enforce the most rigid economy in all departments. All departmental expenses were to be submitted for the approval of the controller-general, a number of
Turgot also prepared a regular budget. His measures succeeded in considerably reducing the deficit, and raised the national credit to such an extent that in 1776, just before his fall, he was able to negotiate a loan with some Dutch bankers at 4%; but the deficit was still so large as to prevent him from attempting at once to realize his favourite scheme of substituting for indirect taxation a single tax on land. Turgot suppressed, however, a number of octrois and minor duties,[b] and opposed, on grounds of economy, the involvement of France in the American Revolutionary War, though without success.[6]
On free trade
Turgot at once set to work to establish free trade in grain, but his edict, which was signed on 13 September 1774, met with strong opposition even in the , who in 1775 published his Essai sur la législation et le commerce des grains.
Suppression of Dijon bread riots
Turgot's biggest challenge was the poor harvest of 1774, which led to a noticeable rise in the price of bread in the winter and early spring of 1774–1775. In April and early May, when peasants begged the governor of
On feudal obligations and protections
All this time Turgot had been preparing his famous Six Edicts, which were finally presented to the conseil du roi (January 1776). Peter Kropotkin described these edicts as "very modest proposals" and summarized these as "abolition of statute labor, abolition of trade-wardens and a timid attempt to make the two privileged classes – the nobility and clergy – pay some of the taxes."[18] Of the six edicts four were of minor importance, but the two which met with violent opposition were, firstly, the edict suppressing the corvées, and secondly, that suppressing the jurandes and maîtrises, by which the craft guilds maintained their privileges. In the preamble to the former Turgot boldly announced as his object the abolition of privilege, and the subjection of all three Estates of the realm to taxation; the clergy were afterwards excepted, at the request of Maurepas.
In the preamble to the edict on the jurandes Turgot laid down as a principle the right of every man to work without restriction.
Proposals for a representative government
With the physiocrats, he believed in an
In Turgot's proposed system,
American Revolution
As minister of the navy from 1774 to 1776, Turgot opposed financial support for the American Revolution. He believed in the virtue and inevitable success of the revolution but warned that France could neither financially nor socially afford to overtly aid it. French intellectuals saw America as the hope of mankind and magnified American virtues to demonstrate the validity of their ideals along with seeing a chance to avenge their defeat in the Seven Years' War. Turgot, however, emphasized what he believed were American inadequacies. He complained that the new American state constitutions failed to adopt the physiocratic principle of distinguishing for purposes of taxation between those who owned land and those who did not, the principle of direct taxation of property holders had not been followed, and a complicated legal and administrative structure had been created to regulate commerce. On the social level, Turgot and his progressive contemporaries suffered further disappointment: a religious oath was required of elected officials and slavery was not abolished. Turgot died in 1781 before the conclusion of the war. Although disappointed, Turgot never doubted revolutionary victory.[21]
Place in the Ministry
All might yet have gone well if Turgot could have retained the confidence of the king, but the king could not fail to see that Turgot had not the support of the other ministers. Even his friend Malesherbes thought he was too rash, and was, moreover, himself discouraged and wished to resign. The alienation of Maurepas was also increasing. Whether through jealousy of the
Fall
The immediate cause of Turgot's fall is uncertain. Some speak of a plot, of forged letters containing attacks on the queen shown to the king as Turgot's, of a series of notes on Turgot's budget prepared, it is said, by
Turgot, on hearing of this, wrote an indignant letter to the king, in which he reproached him for refusing to see him, pointed out in strong terms the dangers of a weak ministry and a weak king, and complained bitterly of Maurepas's irresolution and subjection to court intrigues; this letter the king, though asked to treat it as confidential, is said to have shown to Maurepas, whose dislike for Turgot it still further embittered. With all these enemies, Turgot's fall was certain, but he wished to stay in office long enough to finish his project for the reform of the royal household before resigning. To his dismay, he was not allowed to do that. On 12 May 1776 he was ordered to send in his resignation. He at once retired to La Roche-Guyon, the château of the Duchesse d'Enville, returning shortly to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life in scientific and literary studies, being made vice-president of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1777.[6]
Commentary on Turgot
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:
In character Turgot was simple, honourable and upright, with a passion for justice and truth. He was an idealist, his enemies would say a
Leon Say considers that he was the founder of modern political economy, and that "though he failed in the 18th century he triumphed in the 19th."[6]
Andrew Dickson White wrote in Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915):
TURGOT...I present today one of the three greatest statesmen who fought unreason in France between the close of the Middle Ages and the outbreak of the French Revolution – Louis XI and Richelieu being the two other. And not only this: were you to count the greatest men of the modern world upon your fingers, he would be of the number – a great thinker, writer, administrator, philanthropist, statesman, and above all, a great character and a great man. And yet, judged by ordinary standards, a failure. For he was thrown out of his culminating position, as Comptroller-General of France, after serving but twenty months, and then lived only long enough to see every leading measure to which he had devoted his life deliberately and malignantly undone; the flagrant abuses which he had abolished restored, apparently forever; the highways to national prosperity, peace, and influence, which he had opened, destroyed; and his country put under full headway toward the greatest catastrophe the modern world has seen.
He now, in 1749, at the age of twenty two, wrote... a letter which has been an object of wonder among political thinkers ever since. Its subject was paper money. Discussing the ideas of John Law, and especially the essay of Terrasson which had supported them, he dissected them mercilessly, but in a way useful not only in those times but in these. ...As regards currency inflation ... It still remains one of the best presentations of this subject ever made; and what adds to our wonder is that it was not the result of a study of authorities, but was worked out wholly from his own observation and thought. Up to this time there were no authorities and no received doctrine on the subject; there were simply records of financial practice more or less vicious; it was reserved for this young student, in a letter not intended for publication, to lay down for the first time the great law in which the modern world, after all its puzzling and costly experiences, has found safety.
Notes
References
- ^ Bulletin de la Société d'émulation du Bourbonnais (in French). Moulins: Société d'émulation du Bourbonnais. 1920. p. 291. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
d'hermine, treillissé de gueules de dix pièces turgot.
- ISBN 9781107021198. Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
William Doyle uses physiocracy to explain the freeing of the grain trade and treats Turgot as a physiocrat. [...] Jessica Riskin does the same [...]
- ISBN 9781107021198. Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- Library of Economics and Liberty (2nd ed.), Liberty Fund, 2008, archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2019, retrieved 16 July 2013
- ^ Turgot is a Norman surname, former first name (Old Norse: Thorgaut) Norman family names of Viking origin Archived 19 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine Surname localization in France Archived 17 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 415–17. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ H. Packwood Adams (1914), The French revolution, McClurg, p. 31, archived from the original on 2 July 2014, retrieved 13 March 2016
- ^ Robert Nisbet, History of the Idea of Progress (1980) ch 5
- ^ "Fairs and markets" and "Fondations"
- ^ Kafker, Frank A.; Chouillet, Jacques (26 July 1990). "Notices sur les auteurs des 17 volumes de « discours » de l'Encyclopédie (suite et fin)". Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie. 8 (1): 101–121. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2021 – via www.persee.fr.
- ^ "The impôt de quotité is the result of the application of a tax where the result cannot be calculated in advance.
- ^ "Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth". Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
- ^ Me Nguyen; Benoît Malbranque (25 May 2014). "Les Chinois de Turgot". Institute Coppet.
- Montesquieu, with their solemn explication of European customs to an outsider, in Montesquieu a vehicle for satire.
- ISBN 9780203458785, archivedfrom the original on 2 July 2014, retrieved 13 March 2016
- ^ Peter Kropotkin (1909). "Chapter 5". The Great French Revolution, 1789–1793. Translated by N. F. Dryhurst. New York: Vanguard Printings.
- ^ Peter Kropotkin (1909). "Chapter 5". The Great French Revolution, 1789–1793. Translated by N. F. Dryhurst. New York: Vanguard Printings.
Louis XVI, wanted to go out on the balcony of the palace to speak to them, to tell them that he would reduce the price of bread; but Turgot, like a true economist, opposed this. The reduction in the price of bread was not made.
- ^ Peter Kropotkin (1909). "Chapter 6". The Great French Revolution, 1789–1793. Translated by N. F. Dryhurst. New York: Vanguard Printings.
- ^ Fraser 2006, p. 250
- ^ Peter Kropotkin (1909). "Chapter 5". The Great French Revolution, 1789–1793. Translated by N. F. Dryhurst. New York: Vanguard Printings.
"Representative Government," such as was established by the English after their revolution, and was advocated in the writings of the contemporary philosophers, also began to be spoken of. With this end in view, Turgot had even prepared a scheme of provincial assemblies, to be followed later on by representative government for all France in which the propertied classes would have been called upon to constitute a parliament. Louis XVI shrank from this proposal, and dismissed Turgot; but from that moment all educated France began to talk of a Constitution and national representation.
- ^ Wendell (1979)
Further reading
- Brewer, Anthony (1987), "Turgot: Founder of Classical Economics", JSTOR 2554177.
- Dakin, Douglas (1939), Turgot and the Ancien Régime in France, London: Methuen.
- Fraser, Antonia (2006). Marie Antoinette: the journey. [Toronto]: Anchor Canada. ISBN 9780385662871..
- Groenewegen, Peter D. (2002), Eighteenth-Century Economics: Turgot, Beccaria and Smith and their Contemporaries, London: Routledge, ISBN 0415279402.
- Hart, David (2008). "Turgot, Anne-Robert-Jacques (1727–1781)". In OCLC 750831024.
- Kaplan, Steven L. (1976), Bread, Politics and Political Economy in the Reign of Louis XV, ISBN 9024718732.
- Lifschitz, Avi (2004), "Language as the Key to the Epistemological Labyrinth: Turgot's Changing View of Human Perception" (PDF), Historiographia Linguistica, 31 (2/3): 345–65,
- Meek, Ronald L. (1976), Social Science and the Ignoble Savage, New York: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521209692.
- Palmer, R. R. (1976), "Turgot, Paragon of the Continental Enlightenment", S2CID 154818247.
- ISBN 0945466048.
- Tellier, Luc-Normand, Face aux Colbert : les Le Tellier, Vauban, Turgot ... et l'avènement du libéralisme, Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1987, 816 pages. Etext
- Turgot (baron de l'Aulne), Anne-Robert-Jacques (2011), The Turgot Collection: Writings, Speeches, and Letters of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, ISBN 9781933550947.
- Wendel, Jacques M. (1979), "Turgot and the American Revolution", Modern Age, 23 (3): 282–89.
External links
- Andrew Dickson White's Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915) at Wikiquote
- Turgot Page Archived 4 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine at McMaster
- Jacques Turgot at Catholic Encyclopedia
- Turgot on progress and political economy
- Notice Biographique by Paulette Taïeb.
- 12 mai 1776: "Renvoi de Turgot" by Hérodote
- The Institut Turgot in Paris
- Turgot & 18th and 19th century Dutch economics and politics
- The Brilliance of Turgot by Murray N. Rothbard.
- Works by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)