1. Plural of physiocracy; systems of government or economic thought based on the belief that land and agriculture are the primary sources of wealth and that natural laws govern economic activity.
Usage: historical; economics; political theory

Examples

• The physiocracies of 18th-century France emphasized agricultural production as the foundation of national wealth.
• Scholars studied various physiocracies to understand pre-industrial economic theories.
• The physiocracies rejected mercantilism in favor of natural economic principles.
• Different physiocracies across Europe shared similar views on the primacy of land ownership.
• Economic historians compare the physiocracies with later capitalist systems.