Circular reasoning. Forbonnais and the intricate history of circular flow analysis in the 1750s

Abstract

Circular flow analysis in mid-18th century France is normally associated with the writings of François Quesnay. From the early 1750?s, however, François Véron de Forbonnais developed a distinct theory of circulation in then well-known contributions to the Encyclopédie and his Elémens du commerce of 1754. This article argues that like Quesnay, Forbonnais was in part inspired by Cantillon’s Essay on the Nature of Trade in General. But while Quesnay gave original developments to the real aspects of Cantillon’’s analysis of circulation, Forbonnais focussed on developing monetary aspects, including arguments for the ‘non-neutrality’ of money and an original theory of the money interest rate.     

The visual history of the Tableau Économique

This article looks at the history of the Tableau Économique from a visual point of view. It shows that Quesnay invented the Tableau to formalize visually his economic theory, and that he used different versions of the Tableau (‘Zigzag’, ‘Précis’ and ‘Formule’) for reasons of visual rhetorics. Accordingly, the visual history of the Tableau clarifies several problems identified by previous ‘ecommentors’. The paper concludes that the history of the Tableau as an image cannot be equated with that of Quesnay's abstract economic model without missing the Tableau Économique's raison d'être.     

The physiocrats' concept of labour: A difficulty in Marx's interpretation

Abstract

This article explains the difference between the concept of labour developed by the Physiocrats and Marx. We show that Marx's interpretation based on Turgot is questionable. Whereas Marx bases his ideas on a Lockian definition of labour which puts labour at the origin of value, Quesnay and his disciples develop a mechanistic definition of labour established on Neo-Cartesian foundations. This particular concept of labour then combines with a bio-physical definition of production. The theory of the net product is therefore re-interpreted.     

古典经济学的农业基础论

古典经济学,在一定意义上,是从论证农业在国民经济和社会发展中的地位和作用开始的。从威廉·佩蒂,到布阿吉尔贝尔,魁奈,斯密都对农业的基础地位和作用作过有见地的,甚至是开创性的论述。他们的这些论述,不仅成了马克思主义政治经济学思想来源的重要组成部分,而且对我们研究解决现代中国粮食安全问题具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Alienation and the Soviet Economy,toward a General Theory of Marxian Alienation,Organizational Principles,and the Soviet Economy

The work of the French economist François Perroux has not given rise to a strong consensus in the academic world of economists. Thus, to appreciate the scope of Perrouxian thought, it is necessary to defuse the intellectual debate by exploring the ideas that are part of the current institutional issues. I seek to demonstrate the theoretical interest of the conceptualizations proposed by Perroux in terms of power analysis to understand the political, human, and social dimensions of the institutions of capitalism. In this view, I endeavor to shed light on the Perrouxian institutional legacy regarding the social cooperation/resistance issue, the institutional structure of production, firm theory, agonism theory, economic pluralism, and modern formalization techniques.     

From the Encyclopédie to the Tableau économique : Quesnay on freedom of grain trade and economic growth

This paper investigates the evolution of Quesnay's economic thought between his Encyclopédie articles and the first edition of the Tableau économique. The rediscovery of a forgotten piece Quesnay included in an agricultural treatise — the Essai sur l'amélioration des terres — leads us to reconsider the origins of the first edition of the Tableau. This forgotten piece of writing is the missing link between Quesnay's first economic writings and the Tableau. It improves on the theory of grain trade liberalization Quesnay presented in his first writings on two levels. First, it reconstructs of his previous argument in order to give it a more coherent shape. Second, this text complements the Encyclopédie articles by a growth mechanism. Through a reconstruction of Quesnay's growth mechanism, we show that his argument is a significant analytical step toward the first edition of the Tableau.     

‘Philosophie économique’ and money in France, 1750–1776: the stakes of a transformation

Abstract

The developments of political economy in France between 1750 and 1776 did not allocate a central place to the discussion of the nature and functions of money. The object of this paper is to account for this fact and what it denotes: the disappearance of money as a central object in the discourse on economy and society. We outline the context of this mutation in relation to the ideas of Montesquieu, Gournay and Forbonnais. The actors of this change will then be considered: the promoters throughout these years of ‘philosophie économique’ i.e. Quesnay, the Physiocrats and Turgot. An analysis of these authors, together with a founder of this perspective, Boisguilbert, will show how the status and role of money was modified and illuminate the issues involved. This transformation can be related to the affirmation of a new political discourse whose foundations are rooted in economic interest.     

关于魁奈宏观经济学理论的研究

魁奈以实现国民收入最大化为研究目标,以发现支出的自然规律以及如何使支出符合自然规律作为研究任务,以社会总资本作为研究对象,以再生产总量为研究出发点,运用抽象分析、总量分析、均衡分析等方法详细研究了影响农业支出进而影响农业再生产总量的各种因素以及这些因素与支出和再生产总量关系,并将这些因素和关系统一于经济表中,建立了以国民收入为核心的早期古典宏观经济学体系。     

Authority versus freedom in Quesnay's thought

Although Quesnay is usually regarded alongside Adam Smith as one of the founders of economic liberalism, there are conflicting interpretations of the extent to which Quesnay was committed to the principle of economic freedom. This paper maintains that the source of ‘ambiguity’ in Quensay's thought can be traced to his instrumentalist logic, which accommodates government action and government restraint - not as ideological axioms, but as utilitarian means to a specified end. It therefore helps to bring into sharper relief the essential differences between Quesnay and Smith regarding the relative position of freedom versus authority in an ideal economy.