Vie de M. Turgot

The Vie de M. Turgot is a biography written by the French philosopher and mathematician marquis de Condorcet and published in 1786. The work details the life and career of Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, a French economist and administrator who served under Louis XV and Louis XVI. Turgot is known for his attempts at financial reform, which were ultimately thwarted by privileged classes. Condorcet, a friend of Turgot, used the biography to express his sympathy with Turgot's economic theories aimed at alleviating the suffering of the French populace before the French Revolution. The book is considered one of Condorcet's best literary works and offers insight into Turgot's efforts to implement reforms, such as the abolition of the corvée (unpaid peasant labor) and the promotion of free trade in grain.12