Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay

Jean Claude Marie Vincent, Marquis de Gournay ( born May 28, 1712 Saint- Malo, † June 27, 1759 in Cadiz ) was a French economist.

Gournay came from a family of Breton ship chandlers and was the son of a rich merchant. He also learned this profession and then worked in various shops. In 1744 he entered the service of the Navy Department. Gournay in 1751 was promoted to commercial director ( " director de commerce "). In this role, he began to be interested in the importance of economics and translated the writings of Joshua Child, David Hume and Josiah Tucker ( 1713-1799 ).

Gournay supported from the beginning the ideas of Richard Cantillon. Probably it was therefore appointed teacher of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot.

He is considered a big proponent economic liberalism. He is credited the motto: " Laissez faire, laissez passer, le monde va de lui même - " (such as "Let it happen, let it pass, the world goes on by itself ").

At the age of 47 years Vincent de Gournay died on 27 June 1759 in Cádiz. Today he is seen as one of the founders of the Physiocrats as a reaction against the one-sidedness of mercantilism.

Works

• Observations sur l' état ​​de la Compagnie des Indes (1759 )