Anne Robert Jaques Turgot and His Relevance to the French Revolution :: essays research papers fc

IntroductionAnne Robert Jaques Turgot, baron l Aulne, was born in Paris on May 10, 1727 to a noble French family of Normandy. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, who had furnished the state with numerous everyday officials, Turgot would achieve public renown as Intendent of Limoges and later as Controller General of all France. Although Turgot ended his public career in unfortunate circumstances, being dismissed by Louis XVI for ineffectiveness, his policy-making theories became a major influence in the remaining years of the rare Regime. The depth of Turgots economic thought was not recognized at the time because it largely went against what the ruling aristocracy wanted to hear. His clairvoyance is much to a greater extent fully noted in light of the last two centuries. Furthermore, Turgot was one of the Kings last controller- ecumenicals before the French Revolution ended the monarchy. When his political and economic ideals are considered against this backdrop their i mportance as well as their contradictory nature become apparent. Turgots main contribution to economic theory is his Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Riches. Apart from this short but highly systematic account of the nature of economic development, Turgots other relevant writings are slight and far from cohesive. Since this paper will consider his economics with regard to his political thought, only Turgots theories on the nature of government influence, free trade, and taxes will be examined. Furthermore, an explanation of Turgots theory on administration will be provided. In gaining an understanding of Turgots political and economic thought a stiff example of the problems that manifested themselves in the revolution is provided. Turgot was the model of an enlightened, reform-minded administrator and this may be glimpsed in the liberality of his economic ideas. However, while he certainly counsel reforms in administration, they were simply intended so that the Ki ng could more effectively centralize political power. Laissez-Faire and Free Trade     As a teenage man Turgot was very close to Claude Marie Vincent, the Marquis de Gournay. Vincent was not only a friend but also Turgots mentor in economics and administration. It is in aid to Vincent that after his death Turgot developed his ideas on laissez-faire government in a paper called, the "Elegy to Gournay" (1759). Within this paper Turgot condemns the foolishness of mercantilist regulation of labor while expounding the benefits of free domestic and foreign trade following from the presence of free exchange.     In a detailed analysis of the market process, Turgot writes that egocentrism is the prime mover in the market process and that in a free market the individual interest must always coincide with the general interest.