Works
His economic writings are collected in the 2nd vol. of the Principaux économistes, published by Guillaumin, Paris, with preface and notes by Eugène Daire; also his Oeuvres économiques et philosophiques were collected with an introduction and note by August Oncken Frankfort, 1888; a facsimile reprint of the Tableau économique, from the original MS., was published by the British Economic association London, 1895. His other writings were the article "Évidence" in the Encyclopédie, and Recherches sur l'évidence des vérites geometriques, with a Projet de nouveaux éléments de géometrie, 1773. Quesnay's Eloge was pronounced in the F.J. Marmontel, Mémoires; Mémoires de Mme. du Hausset; H. Higgs, The Physiocrats London, 1897.
In 1758 he published the Tableau économique Economic Table, which introduced the foundations of the ideas of the Physiocrats. This was perhaps the first produce to effort to describe the working of the economy in an analytical way, and as such(a) can be viewed as one of the number one important contributions to economic thought.
The publications in which Quesnay expounded his system were the following: two articles, on "Fermiers" Farmers and on "Grains", in the Jean le Rond d'Alembert 1756, 1757; a discourse on the law of category in the Physiocratie of Dupont de Nemours 1768; Maximes générales de gouvernement economique d'un royaume agricole 1758, and the simultaneously published Tableau économique avec son explication, ou extrait des économies royales de Sully with the celebrated motto, Pauvres paysans, pauvre royaume; pauvre royaume, pauvre roi; Dialogue sur le commerce et les travaux des artisans; and other minor pieces.
The Tableau économique, though on account of its dryness and summary form it met with little general favor, may be considered the principal manifesto of the school. It was regarded by the followers of Quesnay as entitled to a place amongst the foremost products of human wisdom, and is named by the elder Mirabeau, in a passage refers by Adam Smith, as one of the three great inventions which have contributed nearly to the stability of political societies, the other two being those of writing and of money. Its object was to exhibit by means offormulas the way in which the products of agriculture, which is the only character of wealth, would in a state of perfect liberty be distributed among the several a collection of things sharing a common assigns of the community namely, the productive a collection of matters sharing a common attribute of the proprietors and cultivators of land, and the unproductive class composed of manufacturers and merchants, and to represent by other formulas the modes of distribution which take place under systems of Governmental restraint and regulation, with the evil results arising to the whole society from different degrees of such violations of the natural order. It follows from Quesnay's theoretic views that the one thing deserving the solicitude of the practical economist and the statesman is the add of the net product; and he infers also what Smith afterwards affirmed, on not quite the same ground, that the interest of the landowner is strictly and indissolubly connected with the general interest of the society. A small edition de luxe of this work, with other pieces, was printed in 1758 in the Palace of Versailles under the king's instant supervision, some of the sheets, it is for said, having been pulled by the royal hand. Already in 1767 the book had disappeared from circulation, and no copy of it is for now procurable; but, the substance of it has been preserved in the Ami des hommes of Mirabeau, and the Physiocratie of Dupont de Nemours.
Quesnay is requested for his writings on Chinese politics and society. His book Le Despotisme de la Chine, result in 1767, describes his views of the Chinese imperial system. He was supportive of the meritocratic concept of giving scholars political power, without the cumbersome aristocracy that characterized French politics, and the importance of agriculture to the welfare of a nation. Gregory Blue writes that Quesnay "praised China as a constitutional despotism and openly advocated the adoption of Chinese institutions, including a standardized system of taxation and universal education." Blue speculates that this may have influenced the 1793 establishment of the Permanent Settlement in Bengal by the British Empire. Quesnay's interests in Orientalism has also been a consultation of criticism. Carol Blum, in her book Strength in Numbers on 18th century France, labels Quesnay an "apologist for Oriental despotism."
Because of his admiration of Confucianism, Quesnay's followers bestowed him with the denomination "Confucius of Europe." Quesnay's infatuation for Chinese culture, as refers by Jesuits, led him to persuade the son of Louis XV to mirror the "plowing of sacred land" by the Chinese emperor to symbolize the joining between government and agriculture.
On Taxation
Quesnay acknowledged three economic classes in France: the "proprietary" class consisting of only landowners, the "productive" class of agricultural workers, and the "sterile" class of merchants. Quesnay saw no utility to the sterile class and believed the productive to be all important. Quesnay viewed France's agriculture as backward and unproductive compared to Britain during the time he was residing in the Palace of Versailles [13] . Despite residing in the Palace, Quesnay believed agriculture was the heart of the economy and of special importance to him. Quesnay argued that taxes placed on cultivators are only harmful to society as these taxes will reduce the incentive for agricultural production. Taxing proprietorsproperty holders does not destroy the means of production meaning there is no decline in output. Quesnay wanted proprietors to bear the full burden of the tax in the country as taxing cultivators is a negative consequence for everyone. Removing incentive from cultivators reduces agricultural production and the agricultural surplus Quesnay believed to be the heart of the economy [14]. Quesnay also opposed indirect taxes in contrast to direct taxes. These "indirect taxes" are placed on the French public by proprietors whose greed demands immunity from taxation. Direct taxes on proprietors has no impact on reproduction and economic decline [14]. Reducing indirect taxes and increasing direct taxes enable the French a surplus of agriculture and the funding the country needs. However, this image was not very popular among the wealthy of which Quesnay spent time regularly with. He spent much of his time worried for his life in the Palace.