Luxury and industry

This chapter considers Francois Veron-Duverger de Forbonnais&s; Productivism and his concept of societe industrieuse founded on luxury and industry, and illustrates the historic merit of his economic thought. By doing so, it also illuminates a rich vein of French political economy that has been overshadowed by Quesnay. Forbonnais, who succeeded Gournay&s;s realistic awareness of issues, saw the objectives of commercial and industrial policy as resolving underproduction and establishing a domestic production system to compete with other countries, especially England, in the competitive international environment. He includes luxury within the vast category of &s;conveniences&s;. According to Forbonnais, just as the luxury of agricultural producers is inseparable from the luxury of landowners, so the luxury of the rich is the result of the luxury of the nation. His industrial protectionism and a new concept of societe industrieuse became important groundwork for French industrialism produced after the Revolution through the dual criticism of the Physiocrats&s; landowner-led society and Rousseau&s;s egalitarianism.