fund, from which roads were built that connected the largest settlements.
Turgot seriously facilitated the ruinous military service: he organized the supply of the army with the help of contracts, began to build barracks, freeing homeowners from the obligation to provide apartments for soldiers and officers. Also, at the initiative of Turgot, the forced recruitment to the police by lot was replaced by a voluntary one.

Turgot - theorist

In addition to service, Turgot found time for self-education. He studied languages, including dead ones, wrote articles and pamphlets on philosophical, economic and religious topics, and translated foreign literature.
In 1766, his most famous work, Reflections on the Creation and Distribution of Wealth, was written[34]. In it, Turgot expressed one of the main ideas for the physiocratic school about the work of the farmer: "No worker can work until the farmer provides him with the means of life." The scientist singled out five main ways of generating income for land owners: land cultivation by hired workers; land cultivation by slaves; alienation of land in exchange for dues; sharecropping, or sharecropping[35]; lease, or lease, of land.
“The simple worker, who has nothing but the ability to work, has only as much as he manages to get from selling his labor to others. He sells it for more or less, but this more or less high price does not depend on himself - it is the result of an agreement with the one who pays his labor.
All other economic activities known at that time, such as trade and manufacturing, were secondary to agriculture.
Turgot for the first time singled out entrepreneurs and hired workers within the "agricultural class" and the "class of artisans". But the most interesting thing about Turgot's work was that he proclaimed the freedom of any economic activity.
It was Turgot who introduced the concept of "capital" and began the study of this social institution, studied the origin of interest on loans. He considered the amount of loan interest to be an indicator of excess or insufficiency of capital. Turgot examined the mechanism of wage formation for workers, noting that sooner or later this wage will be reduced to a minimum that provides for the most meager needs, since entrepreneurs will always look for the lowest paid workers. Turgot substantiated the need for profit for the owner of the means of production due to the fact that he, for example, needs to compensate for the wear and tear of labor tools and the cost of raw materials.
The scientist made additions to the theory of money, indicating that an imbalance is possible if the mass paper money will not correspond to the quantity of goods.
Peru Turgot owns articles in the "Encyclopedia"[36] of the philosopher-enlightener Denis Diderot[37].

As minister

The main reforming activity of Turgot fell on the years 1774-1776. In July 1774, the newly crowned Louis XVI[38] appointed Turgot as Minister of the Navy, and then, a month later, as Comptroller General of Finances. The financial situation of France was desperate, and Turgot enthusiastically began to remedy the situation with the help of a program he had long prepared, one of the main points of which was austerity.
“Give me good politics and I will give you good finances”
At first, the appointment of Turgot in the high society salons of Paris was met with universal approval. By that time, his works had gained fame in economic and philosophical circles, Turgot's education and erudition were highly appreciated by his fellow citizens, and decisive and competent actions were expected from him. Turgot himself was sincerely convinced that, thanks to his experience and his research, he would be able to bring about in France those transformations in the field of finance, which she sorely needed.
He organized the work of his department in such a way that he began to control all government spending, while he ruthlessly reduced sinecures, and severely pursued abuses. He recommended that the king not increase taxes, fight unemployment by creating new jobs.
Innovations destroying aristocratic privileges in the economic life of the state were of a pronounced anti-feudal character. At the same time, Turgot was a supporter of firm royal power.
"Give me five years of despotism and France will be free"
One of the first measures proposed for implementation by the new Comptroller General of Finances was a decree of September 13, 1774, allowing free trade in grain. The decree was a restoration of the edict of 1764, canceled during the famine of 1770-1771. The bill met with the strongest rebuff in the royal council. Turgot was hated by those who were interested in grain speculation, and among them there were many high-ranking persons. In addition, Turgot issued a series of orders that abolished the monopoly of the grain merchants in Rouen, Lyon and Paris.
The next step, destroying the old order, was the abolition of guilds - “institutions that stifle the competition of industrialists”, “deprive the state of industrial knowledge brought by foreigners”, “hinder the development of industry, the enrichment of the country”. At the same time, any professional associations of masters and apprentices were banned. Labor was declared personal property, and its owner was left to himself. Privileges and monopolies were abolished in such an important sector for the economic life of France as the wine trade.
Turgot also managed to apply his Limoges experience in road construction. Thanks to financing from road funds, he led road construction already throughout France. Later, under his leadership, postal transportation was reorganized, there was a separation of passenger and freight traffic. Thanks to this, the time of trips around the country and their cost have been significantly reduced. Special eight-seater carriages began to move along the roads of France.
Turgot's achievements include the establishment on March 24, 1776 of the partnership Caisse d'Escompt, endowed with the right to issue paper money. In fact, it was a bank closely associated with the government and lending to its activities. Subsequently, in 1790, due to the flooding of the country with paper banknotes, the partnership went bankrupt.
“The more money came into common use, the more could each, devoting himself only to agriculture or his chosen trade, free himself from all worries about satisfying his other needs and think only about acquiring as much money as possible from the sale of his products or his labor, in full confidence that with this money everything else can be obtained: thus, the use of money has extremely accelerated social progress.
Turgot had grandiose plans and designs. He dreamed of reforming education in order to educate citizens on economic issues and thus prepare active supporters of his reforms. On his instructions, the preparation of relevant textbooks began. He planned to change the administrative authorities in order to establish local self-government. However, he was not destined to realize these plans. In May 1776, only 20 months after his appointment, Turgot was dismissed.

Opal and collapse

Turgot was a demanding and principled man. Excessive his straightforwardness was often reproached. It was not easy to maintain friendly and business relations with him. He did not tolerate hypocrisy, frivolity, inconsistency in people. Turgot did not learn court manners.
Parliament and the clergy were opposed to the official. The church was outraged by the reformer's demands to stop the persecution of heretics and to allow the sale of meat on fast days. Even multi-seat carriages aroused the indignation of the holy fathers: they allegedly traveled too fast and prevented the faithful from attending services. The real reason for the hostility of the clergy was Turgot's attempt to involve the Church in carrying out the basic duties along with the rest of the citizens of the kingdom. Those who lost their monopolies in the wine or bread trade were also opposed to Turgot. The reforms were opposed by the nobility, who realized that they could lose their privileges and become on the same level as the common people. Even nature was against Turgot: a crop failure in 1774 provoked riots and unrest. The Minister contributed to the harsh suppression of popular unrest, loyally supporting royal power.
"Politics is the art of foreseeing the present"
Louis XVI, who promised constant protection and protection to his minister, soon became weary of his energy and initiative. The king avoided meeting Turgot. Queen Marie Antoinette[39] generally demanded that the imprudent innovator be imprisoned in the Bastille. The direct and sincere Turgot did not consider it necessary to hide his true thoughts and openly complained in letters about the unbearable atmosphere in which he was forced to work. In one of the letters, Turgot allowed himself not just criticism of the king and his cabinet of ministers. He called the young king weak and inexperienced. This was the last straw that overwhelmed the patience of illustrious persons.
Turgot's resignation led to the reversal of his reforms. 82-year-old Voltaire was shocked by this news: “Oh, what news I hear! France could be happy. What will happen to us? I'm shocked. After Turgot left his post, I see nothing ahead of me but death. This clap of thunder struck me in the head and in the heart.
Turgot was never in good health. An active social life finally undermined him. A third of the time the reformer spent in bed. Nevertheless, his work was not interrupted for a single day. Intellectually, he was cheerful and active: dictated draft laws, reports and letters, held meetings, received visitors. At an audience with the king, he was sometimes carried on a sedan chair.
Friends were struck by the calmness of spirit with which Turgot endured the disgrace and collapse of his reforms. He could even joke about the censors opening his letters. In 1778, Turgot was elected president of the Academy of Belle Literature[40]. In this year he