These economic laws governed the shape of the eco-
nomic order and therefore affirmed Quesnay’s primary
assumption, the shape and movement of the social
order as a whole.
The first task for the physiocrats was to construct a
theoretical model based on the objective economic
laws that they would articulate. In so doing, they
would explain the basis for economic activity and its
impact on social and political order. In explaining
their model, they chose to describe economic activity
in circular terms. In this circle, production and con-
sumption appeared as interdependent variables, whose
interaction proceeded according to certain predeter-
mined laws and could be replicated regardless of the
economic period. Within this circle, the physiocrats
then endeavored to discover some key variable move-
ment that could be regarded as the basic factor, caus-
ing an expansion or a contraction of the circle. The
variable that they identified was the capacity of agri-
culture to yield a profit. Anything that increased this
net gain would lead to increased economic activity,
and anything that reduced it would lead to economic
contraction.
One influential physiocrat, the Marquis de
Mirabeau, summed up the importance of the net gain
or loss in the following terms:
The whole moral and physical advantage of societies is... summed up in one point, an increase in the net
product; all damage done to society is determined by
this fact, a reduction in the net product. It is on the two
scales of this balance that you can place and weigh laws,
manners, customs, vices, and virtues.
As a result of this thinking, physiocrats encouraged,
in almost myopic terms, policies supporting agricul-
tural improvements. Their theoretical paradigm
labeled as “moral” agricultural pursuits and as “im-
moral” all others. Agriculture was the supreme occu-
pation, not only because it was morally and politically
superior to others, not only because its produce was
primary in the scale of wants and always in demand,
but also because it alone yielded a profit. Indeed, for
the physiocrat, being productive meant productive
agricultural profit. Conversely, manufacture- and
commerce-related activities were unproductive and
sterile.
In the years to follow, physiocracy came under
some significant criticism by such notable political
economists as Karl MARX, David RICARDO, and Adam
SMITH. Although they acknowledge physiocracy as an
important contribution to political economy, they are
quick to note that its dismissal of nonagricultural pur-
suits is a debilitating limitation of the paradigm.Further Reading
Meek, Ronald L. The Economics of Physiocracy. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993.Pilgrims
English Protestant CHRISTIANS who formed the first
European settlement in North America in 1620. As fol-
lowers of John CALVIN, they combined Reformed theol-
ogy with DEMOCRATICpolitical governance, as reflected
in their founding document, the MAYFLOWER COMPACT.
The EQUALITYof saints (Christians), democratic church
governance, the reality and persistence of human sin,
reliance on the Bible for moral instruction, a strong
work ethic, and a belief in the imminent return of
Christ made PURITANNew England a pious, efficient
culture. Emphasis on both political and religious LIB-
ERTYcontributed to the American emphasis on FREE-
DOM and INDIVIDUALISM. Resistance to a monarchical
state and the Episcopal Church, the Pilgrims’ theology
logically led to the American Revolution and inde-
pendence. Adhering to a COVENANTview of theology
and politics, the Pilgrims affected much of later U.S.
culture and society. Although PLURALISMweakened the
Puritan ethic in the United States, their ideal of a holy
“City on a Hill,” or haven and lighthouse of a Christ-
ian commonwealth that would preserve and extend
godly truth and civilization, soon became a kind of
CIVIL RELIGION.“MANIFEST DESTINY” in the 19th-century
United States and President Ronald REAGAN’s CONSER-
VATIVE rhetoric about the U.S.’s “divine mission” to
defeat COMMUNISM and to extend liberty around the
world follows from the Pilgrim IDEOLOGY. A leading
writer on Puritan political thought is John WINTHROP
(1588–1649).Plato (427–347 B.C.) Greek political philosopher,
teacher of Aristotle
One of the greatest CLASSICALphilosophers, Plato was
from an aristocratic family in Athens. His “Dialogues”
present much of SOCRATES’ ideas, especially The Apology
of Socrates’ trial. It is assumed that Plato was a follower
of Socrates and then developed Socratic philosophy in
his great work of political theory, The Republic.Plato 231