Using archival materials, we investigate the scientific practices of François Quesnay and the individuals who worked with him in relation to their social background. Our contention is that, before 1764, the group of authors who shared Quesnay's commitment to an agrarian economic theory are best...

This article investigates the scientific practices—and their transformations across time—of the physiocrats in relation to their social background. Our contention is that, in this regard, the physiocratic movement can be broken down in two successive creative communities: The writing...

In this article, we show that Quesnay, while himself devoted to a major analytical effort to create what was at the time, like today, assessed as an original and far-reaching social theory, was also very much concerned with the development of a systematic empirical inquiry of French economy and...