Confucius of Europe Centuries of turmoil brought France to the verge of bankruptcy. Injustice and corruption were widespread. The need to prevent anarchy and maintain social order led to new ideas in political economy, out of which emerged the "économistes".
A new school of economic thought launched the first strictly scientific system of economics, [1] preceeding Classical Political Economists in writing about the importance of "Land" in terms of economic significance. The school was dominated by Royal physician and economist Francois Quesnay (1694-1774) [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Quesnay ] and economist and statesman Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727–1781) [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Robert_Jacques_Turgot ], later joined by economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay (1712-1759) [2] [ and writer, economist and government official Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Samuel_du_Pont_de_Nemours ] who supported the revolution and advocated for genuinely free trade.
In 1758, Francois Quesnay wrote "Tableau Oeconomique" [ https://www.amazon.com/Tableau-Oeconomique-Reproduced-Facsimile-Association/dp/1314472240 ] documenting the Physiocrats' precept: "that the wealth of nations was derived solely from the value of land agriculture or land development." ... there arose in France a school of philosophers and patriots– Quesnay, Turgot, Condorcet, Dupont– the most illustrious men of their time, who advocated, as the cure for all social ills, the "impot unique", the "single tax". – Henry George (1839-1897) [ http://schalkenbach.org/on-line-library/works-by-henry-george/ ]
Recognising France as primarily an agricultural economy, the "économistes" modeled their 'solutions' on laws of nature, which led P. S. DuPont de Nemours to coin the term "Physiocrats" – from the Greek: rule of Nature. In his lifetime, Francois Quesnay became known as “the Confucius of Europe”. Professor Wei-Bin Zhang, Department of Economics, The National University of Singapore, stated, “The influence of the Chinese upon the physiocrats was probably more extensive and more significant than has generally been appreciated. If one will but look into the matter, he can readily discern similarities in thought on the part of Chinese sages and French économistes…. This similarity is more than mere coincidence; it is due to an actually borrowing on the part of the physiocrats.” (Zhang, 2000, p. 195) [ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=NCuDDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=Maverick+(1938)+stated:+%E2%80%9CThe+influence+of+the+Chinese+upon+the+physiocrats+was+probably+more+extensive+and+more+significant+than+has+generally+been+appreciated.+If+one+will+but+look+into+the+matter,+he+can+readily+discern+similarities+in+thought+on+the+part+of+Chinese+sages+and+French+%C3%A9conomistes%E2%80%A6.+This+similarity+Lismore+than+mere+coincidence;+it+is+due+to+an+actually+borrowing+on+the+part+of+the+physiocrats.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=zi0Y6VFKu7&sig=BFqqd4LMNQv3JVfxalhLhkuiV4I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibkMy6v5LWAhUBl5QKHQrWC7UQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Maverick%20(1938)%20stated%3A%20%E2%80%9CThe%20influence%20of%20the%20Chinese%20upon%20the%20physiocrats%20was%20probably%20more%20extensive%20and%20more%20significant%20than%20has%20generally%20been%20appreciated.%20If%20one%20will%20but%20look%20into%20the%20matte&f=false ]
China's contribution:
The Physiocrats took inspiration from China's 4000 year history of taxing land.
Four very different reports:
(i) "China: 4000 years of taxing land" [ http://www.landisfree.co.uk/china-4000-years-of-land-value-taxation/ ] – notes from a lecture presented by Dr Peter Bowman [ https://www.ucl.ac.uk/clie/preparatory-certificates/course-information/upc-staff/upcse-staff-accordian/peter_bowman ] at the British School of Economic Science's IU Conference, London, July 2013. [ https://www.ucl.ac.uk/clie/preparatory-certificates/course-information/upc-staff/upcse-staff-accordian/peter_bowman] Dr Bowman cites The Land Tax in China (1918) by Han Liang Huang [ https://archive.org/details/landtaxinchina00huangoog ], published by Columbia University.
(ii) On the influence of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1664-1716), a. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, born at Leipzig in Saxony on 23 June 1664, is one of the greatest thinkers of Western civilisation– amongst the foremost mathematicians and rationalist philosophers between 17th and 18th century across Europe, writing on geometry, biology, geology, theology, metaphysics and statistics. Inspired by his study of China, Leibniz published ’Novissima Sinica’ in Latin in 1697, a testament to his admiration of Confucian doctrines of politics. In his Preface to the ’Novissima Sinica’, Leibniz sings his praise of Chinese civil life: “But who would have believed that there is on earth a people who, though we in our view so very advanced in every branch of behaviour, still surpass us in comprehending the precepts of civil life? Yet now we find this to be so among the Chinese, as we learn to know them better. And so if we are there equals in the industrial arts, and ahead of them in contemplative sciences, certainly they surpass us (though it is almost shameful to confess this) in practical philosophy, that is in the precepts of ethics and politics adapted to the present life and use of mortals.”
b. Further, Patrick Riley's 1999 review, [ https://muse.jhu.edu/article/15031 ] "Political and Moral Philosophy in the Novissima Sinica, 1699–1999" is outstanding: In 1693, four years before the publication of Novissima Sinica, Leibniz revealed the outlines of his jurisprudence universelle in the Codex Iuris Gentium: "a good man is one who loves everybody, so far as reason permits. Justice, then, which is the virtue which regulates that affection which [End Page 217] the Greeks call philanthropy, will be most conveniently defined ... as the charity of the wise man, that is, charity which follows the dictates of wisdom ... Charity is a universal benevolence, and benevolence the habit of loving or of willing the good. Love then signifies rejoicing in the happiness of another ..., the happiness of those whose happiness pleases us turns into our own happiness, since things which please us are desired for their own sakes." >>> more
(iii) Judith Berling's excellent 1976 essay on neo-Confucianism [ http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln270/Berling-Confucianism.htm ] Excerpt: Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion,"1 the sense of religious identity and common moral understanding at the foundation of a society's central institutions. It is also what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused religion";3its institutions were not a separate church, but those of society, family, school, and state; its priests were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents, teachers, and officials. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion.
The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (K'ung, Confucius, 551-479 B.C.E.) did not intend to found a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou (Chou) dynasty, under which many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt; why couldn't the gods prevent the social upheavals?
(iv) Overview of the role Confucian philosophy played in sustaining China's imperial status-quo, by Professor Derk Bodde, (2005) Chinese Ideas in the West, Columbia University: [ http://www.learn.columbia.edu/nanxuntu/html/state/ideas.pdf ]
To men infected with these new ideas, China provided a powerful stimulus. For in China they saw a great civilization that had evolved quite independently of, and earlier than, their own. Although not a Christian nation, it had nevertheless developed in Confucianism a high system of morals of its own. And, unlike Europe, it had done so without permitting a priesthood to become so powerful as to challenge the state's authority. The emperor of China, furthermore, though seemingly an absolute ruler, was in actual fact limited by the teachings of Confucianism, which declared that "the people are the most important element in the state; the sovereign is the least." Particularly was China admired as a land where government did not rest in the hands of a feudal aristocracy, as in Europe. Instead, it was managed by the mandarins — a group of highly educated scholars — who gained their official positions only after proving their worth by passing a series of state-administered examinations. We know today that this highly favorable picture of China was somewhat over-painted. Yet there is little doubt that the China of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was, both politically and economically, in many ways ahead of Europe (Bodde, 2005, p. 4.). [ http://www.learn.columbia.edu/nanxuntu/html/state/ideas.pdf ]
(v) Dr Wei-Bin Zhang's comprehensive overview on the reasons why Confucian philosophy led to the Enlightenment: "On Adam Smith and Confucius: The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Analects" (2000) [ https://philpapers.org/rec/ZHAOAS ]: See pp. 22-30 on Google book scan. [ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Nocry43BDEIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:#v=onepage&q&f=false ]
Excerpt: The Missionaries Introduce Confucius to Europe
Although the European mind was familiar with the imaginary construction of Chinese culture as early as the 13th century after Marco Polo’s expedition to China, a main step had not been taken until the 16th century when the Europeans began to rapidly expand consciousness, interest and power (e.g., Needham. 1954, Ching and Oxtoby, 1992, Hsu, 1995, Clarke, 1997). p. 23 . . . Except for the dictatorial behaviour of the Manchu rulers, in Adam Smith’s time what Confucianism was able to offer to European philosophy had been already absorbed into Western philosophers’ rational systems. The Enlightenment originated in Paris. Confucius was a main concern of the French philosophers in the early period of the Enlightenment. Confucianism provided what Europe needed for its own mental and spiritual states. its rational voice had been integrated into Europe by, for instance, Leibniz and Quesnay. As far as the European mind at that stage was concerned, Confucianism became almost ‘useless’ when Smith constructed his theories. (Zhang, 2000 p. 30) [ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Nocry43BDEIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:#v=onepage&q&f=false ] SOURCE excerpt: Part 3, A Short History of Economics... http://globalartscollective.org/economic_history.htm