Tableau économique

work by Quesnay

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July 14, 2026

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The Tableau Économique was a diagram created by François Quesnay in 1758. It illustrated the relationships between different economic classes and sectors of society, showing the flow of payments between them. Quesnay, a leader of the physiocrats, believed that land was the primary source of wealth and advocated for deregulation of trade and reduced taxes. His work introduced the concept of economic equilibrium and distinguished between fixed and circulating capital. The physiocrats opposed mercantilism, emphasizing agriculture as the core of national wealth and advocating for free trade.12

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François Quesnay
…economy was summed up in Tableau économique (1758), which diagrammed the relationship between the different economic classes and sectors of society and the flow of payments between them. In his Tableau Quesnay developed the notion of economic equilibrium, a concept frequently used as a point of departure for subsequent economic…
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…economy was summed up in Tableau économique (1758), which diagrammed the relationship between the different economic classes and sectors of society and the flow of payments between them. In his Tableau Quesnay developed the notion of economic equilibrium, a concept frequently used as a point of departure for subsequent economic…
Read More