ABSTRACT
Turgot, influential Physiocrat and Director General of the French finances between 1774 and 1776, once observed that, given five years of despotism, he could make France free. This paradox expressed the disillusionment of eighteenth–century philosophers with any Régime neither bold nor powerful enough to impose sweeping reforms from above. The best prospect of success seemed to be offered by those rulers who associated themselves closely with the Enlightenment while retaining their powers intact. This did not really apply to France, but in Austria in the 1780s there was a chance to prove the validity of Turgot's statement. Joseph II, after the removal of his mother's restraining hand in 1780, ruled as an absolute monarch for ten years and introduced a series of radical changes.
