Early classics and Quesnay after Sraffa: a suggested interpretation

The purpose of the article is to show how useful Sraffa’s formal scheme is for a critical study of classical economists in general and Quesnay’s Tableau économique in particular. Sraffa’s parsimonious argumentation offers a strong incentive to generalise his framework and suggest the idea of a classical system of prices whose prices of production would be a special case. To elaborate a clear notion of a classical system of prices relevant for the study of a priori different authors is the first objective of this article. In this view, the basic elements of a classical system of prices are distinguished: technique of production, rule of imputation of the price of surplus and conditions of reproduction. Even if this may help to have a fresh look on some authors like Petty or Cantillon, it is certainly (with the obvious exception of Ricardo and Torrens) about Quesnay and his Tableau économique that the idea of a classical system of prices is the most fruitful. To suggest a renewed reading of the Tableau is the second objective of the present article.