Editing Physiocracy (section)

==History==
The growing power of the centralized state control in the era of [[enlightened absolutism]] necessitated centralized, systematic information on the nation. A major innovation was the collection, use and interpretation of numerical and statistical data, ranging from trade statistics, harvest reports, and death notices to population censuses. Starting in the 1760s, officials in France and Germany began increasingly to rely on quantitative data for systematic planning, especially regarding long-term economic growth. It combined the utilitarian agenda of "enlightened absolutism" with the new ideas being developed in  economics. In Germany the trend was especially strong in [[Cameralism]] while in France it was an important theme in physiocracy.<ref>Lars Behrisch, "Statistics and Politics in the 18th Century." ''Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung'' (2016) 41#2: 238–257. [https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/357697/Statistics.pdf?sequence=1 online]</ref>

[[Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert]] served as a member of [[Louis XIV]]'s local administration of Paris, and wrote pamphlets and booklets on subjects related to his work: taxation, [[grain trade]], and money. Le Pesant asserted that wealth came from [[homo economicus|self-interest]] and markets were connected by money flows (i.e. an expense for the buyer is revenue for the producer). Thus he realized that lowering prices in times of shortage – common at the time – was dangerous economically as it acted as a disincentive to production. Generally, Le Pesant advocated less government interference in the grain market, as any such interference would generate "anticipations" which would prevent the policy from working.<ref name="Steiner 2003 p. 61">Steiner (2003), p. 61</ref>

For instance, if the government bought corn abroad, some people would speculate that there was likely to be a shortage and would buy more corn, leading to higher prices and more of a shortage. This was an early example of advocacy of free trade. In anonymously published tracts, [[Vauban]] proposed a system known as ''La dîme royale'': this involved major simplification of the French tax code by switching to a relatively [[flat tax]] on property and trade. Vauban's use of statistics contrasted with earlier empirical methods in economics.<ref name="Steiner 2003 p62" />

The event that led [[Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau|Mirabeau]] to devote himself to political economy was undoubtedly his work on a manuscript of [[Richard Cantillon]]'s ''Essai sur la nature du commerce en général'', which he had in his possession as early as 1740.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bertholet|first=Auguste|date=2020|title=The intellectual origins of Mirabeau|journal=History of European Ideas|volume=47|pages=91–96|doi=10.1080/01916599.2020.1763745|s2cid=219747599}}</ref> He elaborated a commentary of this text that gradually became his ''Ami des hommes''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Correspondance Mirabeau – Sacconay (1731–1787)|url=http://lumieres.unil.ch/projets/mirabeau|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531231155/http://lumieres.unil.ch/projets/mirabeau/|archive-date=2020-05-31|website=Lumières.Lausanne}}</ref>

Around the time of the [[Seven Years' War]] between France and England (1756–63), the physiocracy movement grew. Several journals appeared, signaling an increasing audience in France for new economic ideas. Among the most important were the ''Journal Œconomique'' (1721–72), which promoted [[agronomy]] and rational [[husbandry]] and the ''Journal du commerce'' (1759–62), which was heavily influenced by the Irishman [[Richard Cantillon]] (1680–1734), both dominated by physiocrats; the ''Journal de l'agriculture, du commerce et des finances'' (1765–74) and the ''Ephémérides du citoyen'' (1767–72 and 1774–76).<ref name="Steiner 2003 p62"/>

Also, [[Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay|Vincent de Gournay]] (1712–1759), the [[Intendant|Intendant du commerce]], brought together a group of young researchers including [[François Véron Duverger de Forbonnais]] (1722–1800) and one of the two most famous physiocrats, [[Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot]] (1727–1781). The other, [[François Quesnay]] (1694–1774), was among those writing prolifically in contemporaneous journals.<ref name="Steiner 2003 p62"/>