Jean-François Melon (; 1675–1738) was a French

political economist Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

, considered one of the precursors of the

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 ...

movement. According to István Hont, his ''Political Essay upon Commerce'' was the most widely available defense of in France in the early 18th century.

Writings

Melon was a close associate of John Law. Melon sought to adapt Colbertiste ideas with the views of English mercantilist economists. Melon followed John Law on monetary theory and defended

paper currency Paper money, often referred to as a note or a bill (North American English), is a type of negotiable promissory note that is payable to the bearer on demand, making it a form of currency. The main types of paper money are government notes, which ...

. Melon was a contemporary of

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

, and belonged to the same

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

coterie. His ''Political Essay upon Commerce'' followed Montesquieu's argument in ''Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans'' and ''Universal Monarchy''. Melon and Montesquieu defended luxury against those who believed that decadence had been the cause of the

fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

, and who suggested parallels with the policies of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

and

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. In a novel evoking Montesquieu's ''Persian Letters'', Melon presented a parable of military and peaceful means by which a country might achieve national greatness through the example of an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

ruler who conquered

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

''Political Essay upon Commerce''

In his ''Political Essay upon Commerce'', Melon argued that states follow either a "spirit of conquest" or a "spirit of preservation". To provide a modern illustration of this distinction, Melon proposed three models of commercial policy. He used these models to demonstrate that war against a country with a commercial monopoly was just—significant for the reason that

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

was regarded as a commercial monopolist in France in this period, and that a country with a commercial monopoly in food would defeat a country without such a monopoly. Melon did not desire a monopolistic empire for France, however, and preferred that countries become self-sufficient in food. Instead, Melon proposed that France seek a commercial monopoly and establish hegemony over Europe. Melon's political economy was founded on a three-stages theory, in which basic necessities were followed by manufactured goods, which were in turn followed by luxuries. Progression from necessities to luxuries was only possible with a surplus in goods of each kind. Like the physiocrats, Melon believed that agriculture was the foundation of a nation's economy, but believed that manufactured goods were the source of a nation's greatness. Melon argued in favour of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

in grain and inflationary monetary policies to improve France's

balance of trade Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports of goods over a certain time period. Sometimes, trade in Service (economics), services is also included in the balance of trade but the official IMF d ...

. Melon presented arguments against those who opposed luxury, which they associated with decadence and the decay of civic virtue—a view popularised by the writings of

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, PSS (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of ' ...

—advocated

sumptuary laws Sumptuary laws (from Latin ) are laws that regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furnitu ...

to correct the French

. For Melon, luxury was a promoter of trade, and represented a "spur for the multitude" present in every "well-governed society". Melon popularised

Bernard Mandeville Bernard Mandeville, or Bernard de Mandeville (; 15 November 1670 – 21 January 1733), was an Anglo-Dutch philosopher, political economist, satirist, writer and physician. Born in Rotterdam, he lived most of his life in England and used English ...

's defense of luxury in '' The Fable of the Bees'' in France.

Publications

* ''Mahmoud le Gasnévide'', 1729 * ''Essai politique sur le commerce'', 1734

Bibliography

*Entry in ''Dictionnaire d’économie politique'' de

Charles Coquelin Charles Coquelin (25 November 1802 in Dunkerque – 12 August 1852 in Paris) was a French economist. He wrote on the banking sector in his "Dictionnaire de l’économie politique" and "Le crédit et les banques". He also wrote in the Revue des ...

, Éd. Guillaumin, 1864, p. 152-153 *Bouzinac, J., ''Jean-François Melon, économiste'', Toulouse, 1906; New York, 1970. *Duffrenoy, Marie-Louise, ''L'idée de progrès et la recherche de la matière d'Orient: Jean François Melon et les sciences économiques'', Paris, 1964. *Megnet, Franz, ''Jean-François Melon (1675 bis 1738). Ein origineller Vertreter der vorphysiokratischen Ökonomen Frankreichs'', Zurich, 1955. * Rebière, Alphonse, ''Jean-François Melon: l'économiste'', Tulle, 1896.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melon, Jean-Francois 1675 births 1738 deaths People from Tulle French economists