The Historical School: From Friedrich List to the Social Market Economy. Zemfira Nazarova
place in society, with objective conditions, needs and interests of living economic practice.
Among the economists associated with the development of the historical school and the formation of the model of state regulation of the economy, it is necessary to emphasize the German economists F. List, B. Hildebrand, G. Schmoller, W. Sombart, M. Weber, L. Erhard, from the Russian – S. Y. Witte, I. M. Kulisher, D. I. Mendeleev, V. V. Svyatlovsky and a number of others, on whose works the author has relied as primary sources in this study. Among the basic textbooks on the history of the world economy used by the author, it is necessary to mention the textbooks edited by A.N. Markova, on the economic history of the world by M.V. Konotopov, on the history of economic doctrines by V.S. Avtonomov, A.G. Khudokormov, E.M. Maiburd, G.D. Glovely, French economists S. Gide and S. Rist, A. Espinas, English economists M. Blaug, L. Robbins, American economist and historian B. Seligman, Austro-English economist and historian J.A. Schumpeter and German historian F. Mehring. In the analysis of the economic situation in Germany at different periods of its history, the author also used the works of the representatives of the historical school and her own work «History of economics and economic doctrines in a summary of key events».
I want to be honest, to find the truth, no matter how «ugly» it is, when studying this period of German economic history. Without the truth we will not be able to evaluate what is happening in our country, in Europe and in the world. It is a pity that people (especially those in power) have a very short or selective memory, as the events of recent years have shown, and this does not allow them to be objective in assessing what is happening. The search for truth in any field of scientific knowledge is possible only thanks to a comprehensive historical understanding of the subject of research. After all, it is thanks to many German scientists that in the last two hundred years most of the discoveries in the field of archaeology and history have been made, the ancient world and especially the East, thanks to the development of the German historical school, economics has received a number of brilliant works on economic history, industry, statistics, branch economics and other areas of economic and historical science. It was the development of the historical school that led to the post-war «economic miracle» in Germany.
In modern conditions all countries are looking for the way of crisis-free development, stability and efficiency of the economy, the way of higher standard of living, and some of them create socially oriented market economy, but most of the states, developing even under market conditions, by many indicators lag behind the successful countries. Knowledge of the history of economics and economic doctrines allows to see the advantages and disadvantages of different models, to choose the way of development, to formulate the economic policy of the state, methods and mechanisms of state regulation of the economy from the experience of market economy mechanism accumulated by civilizations. The experience of work in educational organizations allows us to assert that all established modern economic theories and models of economic development are the result of the development of economic thought and doctrines, the result of the long formation of economic science. The course «History of economics and economic doctrines», which the author read for many years, also allows us to testify that the ideas of List and representatives of the historical school of Germany undeservedly «faded» next to the Anglo-American theories of economic freedom, liberalism and fritrade, presented in modern textbooks of economic theory and history of economic doctrines.
The pace of development of countries is different and depends on the effectiveness of economic policy and economic management, and the effectiveness in turn depends on the culture of people, their national characteristics, natural intelligence, diligence, self-discipline. It took more than a millennium for mankind to come to modern economic conditions and to understand the importance of rational (efficient) use of resources (the wealth of nature) to satisfy the ever-growing needs. What will be the challenges and especially the consequences of digital economy, information warfare and cyber technologies?
Once upon a time, Marxists and Bolsheviks were accused of «exporting revolution». Today, the U.S. can be accused of «exporting democracy,» as it is very active in «helping» countries establish democracy. NATO’s borders in recent decades have come close to Russia’s borders, where missile defense installations are now located. It is high time to remind once again the desire of the author of these lines that if the USA is a truly democratic country, is it not time for it to contribute to the liquidation of NATO, which the author has repeatedly proposed in her articles since 2009, and to create another institution (international organization) with a new content and tasks, in order to preserve peace on the whole earth and for all earthlings.
And in these new conditions it is necessary to become objectively familiar with various alternative doctrines of economic theory, one of which is the historical school of Germany and its followers.
This monograph attempts to outline the relationship from the great Liszt to the social market economy policies of modern Germany, and to connect Germany’s successes with the ability to be properly guided by the legacy of scientific thought in political economy and the economic teachings of German political economists who stood at the origins of West German neoliberalism (ordoliberalism).
The monograph includes a brief chronological guide, an index of names, a glossary of terms and concepts, as well as structural and logical schemes that complement the main text and a bibliographic list of literature and primary sources used by the author.
The role of cities in the development of mercantilism and cameralism, contributing to Frederick the Great’s Anti-Machiavelli, Fichte’s Closed Commercial State and Thünen’s Isolated State
According to historians, the settlement of Germanic tribes in Western Europe began to occur in the I millennium BC, and it was under the blows of Germanic tribes that the fall of Rome began in 476.
Germany is usually attributed to the countries of the «non-synthesis path of the genesis of feudalism». In future France feudalism developed on the basis of decaying slaveholding relations and communal and tribal relations at the stage of military democracy under the influence of Roman institutions. In Germany this influence was relatively weak, and the processes were based on the decomposition of communal relations, the Romans could not fully conquer Germany, and its main part was not part of the Roman Empire. There was no large landownership, villas with dependent colonists and slaves. The process of formation of feudal land ownership here through allods and benefices was slow, beginning in the 7th century, and was completed by the 12th century. Many lands, wealth, and even the armed forces in Germany belonged to the church. Germanic bishops and abbots were the backbone of kings and played a decisive role in the selection of the Roman pope, the eleventh century was the period of the «Germanic popes». The Germanic king Otto I, having captured the main part of Italy in 962, was crowned emperor in Rome, declaring himself the successor of the rulers of the Roman Empire, so the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic nation was founded. On favorable trade and river routes, cities appeared, in which crafts and active trade developed, a layer of townspeople was formed. In the X – XII centuries in Germany and throughout Western Europe there is a growth of cities – both from the old Roman fortifications, and from new craft and trade settlements. Cities, originally dependent on their liege lords (bishops, secular feudal lords, the king), sought liberation from their authority, self-government, and personal freedom of citizens. In the struggle for their autonomy, cities sought the personal liberation of all townspeople from serfdom. A serf, if he fled to the city and lived in it for a certain period of time, usually one year and one day, became free, and the landlord could not return him. As the German proverb says: «the city air makes one free». Along with imperial cities, subordinated directly to the Holy Roman Empire, free cities appeared. This process was accompanied by a liberation movement of townspeople from feudal dependence. The result of the so-called communal movement (communal revolutions) was the freedom and independence of cities, the growth of commodity production and money circulation. These cities were equalized in rights with imperial cities and became known as free imperial cities. Becoming independent