Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
French economist who promoted free trade and opposed monopolies.
Most quoted
"Professional observation: 'The physiocratic system reveals that net product comes solely from agriculture.'"
— from Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth, 1766
"Witty remark: 'The king's finances are like a leaky ship; we must plug the holes before it sinks.'"
— from Speech, 1774
"The only way to increase the wealth of a nation is to increase the productivity of its labor."
— from Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth, 1770
All quotes by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (102)
Public credit is the lifeblood of the nation.
Inequality of wealth is the mother of all vices.
The farmer is the true creator of wealth.
Laws should be made by the wise, not the many.
Economic liberty is inseparable from political liberty.
The circulation of money is like the blood in the body.
Monopolies stifle innovation and progress.
The state should protect property, not plunder it.
Wealth is not in gold, but in the land.
Reforms must be gradual to avoid chaos.
The value of labor is the foundation of all prices.
Tyranny in economics leads to tyranny in government.
Free markets correct themselves better than any regulator.
The poor are the true wealth of the nation.
Interest rates should be left to the market.
Education is the seed of economic prosperity.
Guilds are chains on the feet of industry.
The budget is the soul of the state.
Savings are the engine of capital accumulation.
Justice in taxation is proportional to ability to pay.
Contemporaries of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
Other Economicss born within 50 years of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781).