This book can be described as a development of my Masters thesis, 'The Economics of A. R. J. Turgot' written at the University of Sydney in 1961-62. It has therefore been a long time in the making and, needless to say, I in curred many an intellectual debt during this period which I would like to acknowledge here. My thanks go first to Professor J. R. Wilson, who super vised my Masters thesis and who read part of this manuscript in draft, to the late Professor Jacob Viner whose tremendous knowledge of the history of economics was put at my disposal on several occasions, and to Professor R. L....