The National System Of Political Economy Imperium Press

Friedrich List is the father of economic nationalism and the historical school of economics. Responding to Adam Smith's free market apologetics, in The National System of Political Economy List provides a theoretical basis for state intervention in the economy. But he does much more than this-as part of a wider trend in European thought, List affirms the primacy of history in developing our worldview. The National System of Political Economy does not begin with theory, but with history. In so doing, List shows that England's rise as a commercial power was not facilitated by free markets but by protectionism, drawing his theory from historical fact rather than the other way around. List's avowed liberalism is overshadowed by his illiberal priors, and so the economic history of the 20th century was one of Listian principles being put to use by illiberal regimes such as Russia, China, and Germany. His thought also governed the economic policy of another developmental state for over a century-America. Smith and Marx formed the basis of 20th century economic theory. But Friedrich List stands as a colossus astride the 20th century, forming the basis of economic practice for all major powers until mid-century. In his introduction to this edition, Francis O'Beirne shows that the great economic clash has never been between capitalism and socialism, but between capitalism and nationalism, with Marxism a revolutionary force, but an economic irrelevancy.

One of the most prominent economic philosophers of the 19th century, on a par with-but espousing quite different thinking than-Karl Marx and Adam Smith explores, in the three-volume National System of Political Economy, a reasoned doctrine of national and pan-national management of trade, a global collaboration between government and business. In Volume 2, he delineates his theory of supportive interconnectedness, discussing everything from the value of the individual's ability to produce wealth to the edge established businesses have over new ones. A close reading of this 1841 classic is an absolute necessity for anyone who hopes to understand world economic history of the last 150 years. German economist and journalist FRIEDRICH LIST (1789-1846) served as professor of administration and politics at the University of T bingen, but was later jailed and later exiled to America for his political views. His is also the author of Outlines of American Political Economy (1827).

In The National System of Political Economy, List provides a critique of the ideas of Adam Smith and David Ricardo that continues to resonate with policy makers concerned with industrial policy and national economic development. List argues that in contrast with the stylized view of classical economics, real-world economies are organized along national lines and that policy makers can ignore this reality to their peril. The benefits from trade are conditional, rather than universal and the development of sophisticated industry requires carefully designed and sequentially planned state interventions. List provides an early recognition of the existence of distinct stages of economic development, and of the interplay between military power, industrial development and national prosperity. List's work had a formative influence on contemporary strands of thought such as institutional economics and 'national systems of innovation' perspectives and is considered an exemplary of work in the tradition of realist international political economy.

One of the most prominent economic philosophers of the 19th century, on a par with-but espousing quite different thinking than-Karl Marx and Adam Smith explores, in the three-volume National System of Political Economy, a reasoned doctrine of national and pan-national management of trade, a global collaboration between government and business. Volume 1 examines the pronounced influence of freedom prudently balanced with regulation in the economic histories of the nations of Europe and North America. A close reading of this 1841 classic is an absolute necessity for anyone who hopes to understand world economic history of the last 150 years. German economist and journalist FRIEDRICH LIST (1789-1846) served as professor of administration and politics at the University of T bingen, but was later jailed and later exiled to America for his political views. His is also the author of Outlines of American Political Economy (1827).

Excerpt from The National System of Political Economy It was this testimony to the practical influence of List's economical theories which first attracted my attention to his writings, and a perusal of them induced me to undertake the translation of the following work, with a view to affording English readers an opportunity of judging for themselves as to the truth of his statements and the soundness of his argu ments. The work consists of four parts - the History, the Theory, the Systems, and the Politics of National Economy. It is important to bear in mind that all were written before 1844, and the fourth part in particular treats of political circum stances and of commercial policies which have now for the most part ceased to exist. The Corn Laws, the Navigation Laws, and the generally protectionist tariff of Great Britain were then still unrepealed; the manufacturing industry of Germany was still in its infancy, and the comparatively moderate tariff of the German States still permitted England to supply them with the greater part of the manufactured goods which they required. At first sight, therefore, it would seem an anachronism to place before the reader of to-day a work having special re lation to a state of things which existed forty years ago. The principles, however, enunciated by List are in their main features as applicable at one time as at another, and it will be found that they possess two especially powerful claims to consideration at the present moment. In the first place, there is good reason for believing that they have directly inspired the commercial policy of two of the greatest nations of the world, Germany and the United States of America; and in the next, they supply a definite scientific basis for those protectionist doctrines which, al though acted upon by our English-speaking colonies and held by not a few practical men as well as by some com mercial economists in this country, have hitherto been only partially and inadequately formulated by English writers. The fundamental idea of List's theory will be seen to be the free import of agricultural products and raw materials combined with an effective but not excessive protection (by means of customs duties) of native manufacturing industry against foreign competition. According to his views, the most efficient support of native production of agricultural products and raw materials is the maintenance within the nation of flourishing manufacturing industry thus protected. The system which he advocates differs, therefore, on the one hand from the unconditionally free import system of one-sided free trade adopted by England, and on the other from the system now apparently approved by Prince Bismarck, of imposing protective duties on the import of food and raw materials as well as on that of manufactured goods. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Friedrich List's daring economic thesis, which challenges the prevailing theories of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, comprises of four books and appendixes, all of which are contained in this volume. One of the first challenges to the orthodoxy of unfettered free trade, this book undertakes a comparison between the economies of the United States and Germany - who used protectionism - and the economy of Great Britain, which was broadly aligned to free trade. List demonstrates that the unbridled free trade acts to foster inequality and lopsided development; in the case of the British Empire, the colonized lands benefit far less than the colonizers. Domestic industry in Britain during the 19th century was characterized by extreme poverty of the workers; a dire situation which would eventually spur the creation of trade unions. List notices that living standards in Germany and the USA during the 19th century consistently rose. In other nations the correlation between tariffs and protectionism, and general living standards for the wider populace, are established. While tariffs on foreign goods were incrementally imposed, the resulting taxes were reinvested into the domestic economy; industry and public infrastructure were improved, and standards for labor were higher, than those in the laissez-faire economy of Great Britain. A stark opponent of unbridled capitalism, List instead favors a system whereby the state and the business economy work together to create decent conditions for all. He strongly believed that nations had a duty to look after their citizens, create an identity, promote industrial growth and prowess, and regulate both capital and labor to beneficent ends. This is contrasted with free markets, wherein the state's role is minimal and the consequences are shown to be mass exploitation and poverty. List's body of work, while having faded from view somewhat in the modern day, forms an important milestone in economics. They represent the first major departure from laissez-faire system, and their criticisms of unregulated markets still ring true in the modern day. Although marginalized both during and after his lifetime, and scarcely present in many modern economics courses, Friedrich List's writings were a valuable addition to the discourse. The translation of the text to English is by Sampson S. Lloyd, a British politician in the late-19th century who agreed with the arguments List presented.