Condorcet on Equality and Poverty

Abstract

During the French Revolution, the ideal of equality was propagated, so people more and more tackled with the problem of poverty. On the one hand, Smith and Turgot, who influenced Condorcet, regarded inequality as indispensable for the prosperity of economy. This essay describes how Condorcet thought about poverty, and how his political economy was connected with the ideal of equality. Through considering it, we can understand the transformation of society from Ancien Régime where hierarchy and inequality existed to the period of the French Revolution.

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet （1743-1794） is known as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. Like most of them, Condorcet lived in Ancien Régime, the regime that influenced his thought on economy, politics, and society. Nonetheless, unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, Condorcet lived in the period of the French Revolution. Through studying Condorcet, we can learn how the French Revolution affected economic discourses.