The Natural Order As The Basis For Legislation

The legal thinking of the Physiocrats is based on a deep criticism of mercantilism and a clear understanding of the national conditions of France.Although the mercantilists' policy of emphasizing business and suppressing agriculture objectively alleviated the financial crisis in France to a certain extent,it also brought about a series of problems such as the decline of agriculture,high taxes,and privileged monopoly organizations.The Physiocrats faced the problems left over by mercantilism.They advocated reforming all laws and regulations restricting the prices of agricultural products and the free circulation of commodities,and advocated the legal principle of "laissez-faire".They regard agricultural production as "natural" production,and industrial and commercial production as "man-made" production.They believe that only agriculture that relies on "natural" for production can produce pure products(that is,"income" in the true sense),only agricultural labor is productive labor,while industry and commerce can only bring material changes to form,and it is non-productive labor.They creatively observe the intertwined social relations from the perspective of the system,and analyze the modern society that is forming by focusing on the field of production rather than the circulation basin.They pointed out that taxation of industry and commerce is essentially a double taxation of agriculture.Therefore,the proposal should only impose a single tax on pure agricultural products.The Physiocrats believe that their series of legal reforms and their economic preconditions are guided by the "natural order" thinking,and the purpose of these changes is to realize the natural rights and freedoms under the "natural order".They no longer pay attention to the technical details of legislation like modern natural jurists,and instead pay attention to the principle of uniformity behind the technical details of legislation.They use the concepts of "nature" and "natural order" to divide the law into natural law and human law.Natural law conforms to natural law,and human law should be compatible with natural law and guarantee the implementation of natural law.They absorbed the views of French materialists in the eighteenth century,and insisted on objectivity and regularization in the process of constructing the "natural order" thinking.They learned from the theories of modern natural jurists and emphasized the importance of rationality and "self-preservation".Their outstanding contribution is to concretize the abstract and vague natural rights of modern thinkers and attribute them to the material and freedom that people can actually enjoy.The Physiocrats adopts a social perspective in methodology,discussing the importance of "natural order" for social welfare.It not only reconciles the interests of all classes in society,but also pays attention to the common welfare of all classes in society.The idea of "natural order" as the foundation of legislation requires that the legislative reform of agriculture be regarded as a basic and decisive reform in practice,but it has never been out of feudalism;on the issue of property rights,it is required to protect the ownership system As a prerequisite for the promotion of their large-scale farming system;in the relationship between the state and the market,it advocates "legal autocracy" and emphasizes the establishment of a rationalist government and a "laissez-faire" market.The legal values of justice and freedom flashed in the theory of agriculture-based,rational government and free market emphasized by the Physiocrats,which were often overlooked by the researchers of the Physiocrats in the past.The legal thinking of the Physiocrats not only guides and inspires people's thinking within the scope of metaphysics,but also defends and protects people's due rights in specific systems.