Orléans
Orléans (,"Orleans" (US) and He is one of the main figures of
physiocracy
Physiocracy (; from the Greek for "government of nature") is an economic theory developed by a group of 18th-century Age of Enlightenment French economists. They believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricult ...
, a school of thought founded by
François Quesnay
François Quesnay (; ; 4 June 1694 – 16 December 1774) was a French economist and physician of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the " Tableau économique" (Economic Table) in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas ...
and the
Marquis de Mirabeau
Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de Mirabeau (; 5 October 171513 July 1789) was a French economist of the Physiocratic school. He was the father of Honoré, Comte de Mirabeau and André Boniface Louis Riqueti de Mirabeau. He was, in distinction, oft ...
in July 1757.
Early years
Born in Orleans on October 13, 1728, Le Trosne was the son of Guillaume Le Trosne, counselor and secretary to the king, magistrate judge of the area and presidential seat of Orléans, and of Thérèse Marguerite Arnault, daughter of Louis Arnault de Nobleville, bourgeois merchant of Orleans.
Legal training
Le Trosne studied law in Orleans and followed his father's example by getting to dress early. In 1748 he was, in his first year of law, the pupil of the famous Robert-Joseph Pothier, of whom he would later compose, in 1773, the ''Éloge historique''. For two years he had the privilege, together with M. de Guienne, a lawyer in Parliament and a close friend of
Pothier Pothier is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Robert Joseph Pothier (1699–1772), French jurist and writer on contract law
* Toussaint Pothier (1771–1845) Canadian businessman, seigneur and political figure in Lower Can ...
, to review the manuscript of the latter's great work, ''Pandectae Justinianeae in novum ordinem digestae'', published in Paris, by 1748 to 1752.
The magistrate
From 1753 to 1774, Le Trosne was appointed to the office of the king's lawyer at the presidial of Orléans. He shared his experience as a magistrate in a memorable critical speech entitled ''l'Etat de la magistrature et des causes de sa décadence'' (On the State of the Magistracy and the Causes of its Decadence) (1764). When he left office after more than twenty years of career, he received the title of honorary adviser to the presidial of Orléans. During his retirement, he published his ''Vues sur la justice criminelle (''Views on Criminal Justice) (1777). He strongly supported the model presented by Michel Servan in his famous speech of 1767 on criminal justice.
Physiocracy
Until 1763 Le Trosne dealt with questions of natural law, the law of nations and feudal law. A founding full member of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Generality of Orléans, that same year he became a fervent disciple of the doctrine developed by Doctor
François Quesnay
François Quesnay (; ; 4 June 1694 – 16 December 1774) was a French economist and physician of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the " Tableau économique" (Economic Table) in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas ...
. From 1765 to 1767, he also wrote economic articles in specialized journals, notably in the school newspaper, the '' Éphémérides du citoyen''. From 1768, he devoted himself to more extensive work in which he developed the main precepts of the physiocratic movement.
In addition to his writing function, from 1769 he was an associate member of the Académie royale des belles-lettres de Caen, where he read, in 1770 and 1771, five speeches that he published in 1777 in one of his most important works: ''De l’ordre social (On the social order''.) Le Trosne was, on the other hand, an honorary member of the ''Société économique de Berne''.
His last major work, a complete and detailed account of the administrative thought of the physiocratic movement, dates from 1779: ''De l’administration provinciale et de la réforme de l’impôt (''On provincial administration and tax reform.) Before being published, this memoir won the prize offered by the Academy of Toulouse. But, as in 1780 a meeting of the clergy was to be held in Paris, the Keeper of the Seals feared that this book would upset them, because it suggested to tax the property of the ecclesiastics. To avoid controversy and scandal, the book was seized, although Necker, however little known for his physiocratic sympathies, supported its publication.
Death
Shortly after this episode, Le Trosne died in Paris on May 26, 1780, after suffering from inflammation of the chest.
Works
Le Trosne authored numerous articles and books on law, economics and politics. His most well known works on politics include:
* ''Discours sur l'état actuel de la magistrature et sur les causes de sa décadence (1764)''
* ''Mémoire sur les vagabonds et les mendiants (''1764)
* ''Éloge historique de M.
Pothier Pothier is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Robert Joseph Pothier (1699–1772), French jurist and writer on contract law
* Toussaint Pothier (1771–1845) Canadian businessman, seigneur and political figure in Lower Can ...
, conseiller au présidial d’Orléans et professeur de droit françois en l’Université de la même ville'' (1773)
* ''De l’ordre social'' (1777)
* ''De l’intérêt social'' (1777)
* ''Vues sur la justice criminelle,'' (1777)
* ''De l’administration provinciale et de la réforme de l’impôt'' (1779)
Bibliography
* Guillaume-François Le Trosne, ''Les lois naturelles de l’ordre social'', présentation et transcription par Thérence Carvalho, Genève, Slatkine, 2019.
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