Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi

Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi also: Anaxagoras from the Occident (* 1717 bridges, † July 21, 1771 in Kuestrin ) was a German political and economic thinkers of the 18th century. His writings bear the author name Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi, but was no basis for the nobility be detected.

Life

Justi was the son of a Saxon Akziseinspektors, studied from 1742 to 1744 at the University of Wittenberg, University of Jena and Leipzig University Law and Kameralwissenschaften, where he received his doctorate. Subsequently, he was in the Prussian army regiment quartermaster, came as a lawyer in the service of the Duchess of Saxe- Eisenach and in 1750 converted to the Catholic faith. In this context, he was appointed professor of Kameralistik at the newly founded Academy Knights Theresianumgasse in Vienna. Later he took over the Chair nor the rhetoric. In addition, he also worked in the Austrian censorship Hofkommission with, dealt with mining and sericulture, was the imperial financial and mining engineer. There he was in close contact with Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz whose administrative reforms Justis influenced political ideas sustainable.

Due to failures in silver mining compelled he requested his dismissal in 1753. After brief stays in Erfurt and Leipzig Justi 1755 Bergrat and police director in Göttingen. In this position, he lectured at the University of Göttingen on political economy and natural history. In Göttingen Justi began his systematic reception of contemporary French works, especially Montesquieu Esprit des lois. 1757 Justi went at the invitation of the Danish minister Bernstorff to Copenhagen before he settled in 1758 in Altona. Hoping for a permanent position in the Prussian service Justi moved in 1760 to Berlin, where he was appointed only in 1765 as head of the Prussian state mines. After allegations of fraud Justi 1768 was deposed, tried and determined in Kuestrin, where he died in 1771.

Work

Justis extensive oeuvre consists of over 50 independent publications that deal with philosophical, literary, technological, geological, chemical, physical, political and economic issues. Since Justi many years of his life held no fixed academic or governmental body, he tried to be represented per year with at least two new releases each at the book fairs in Leipzig and Frankfurt. This explains the text book character and the numerous parallels ( and sometimes literal repetitions) in his writings.

Justis central concern is to reform the larger territories of the Holy Roman Empire to the effect that they could compete politically, militarily and economically with the major powers England and France. Against the background of the European powers struggling in the Seven Years' War Justi worked in his political and economic main works out a number of proposals, such as the economic development level of a country could be raised quickly and permanently. This Justi went back to the ideas of French thinkers such as Fénelon, Saint -Pierre d' Argenson and Montesquieu.

In his political writings Justi argued that a country can achieve economic success only with a moderate government, which guarantees the inviolability of private property. Despotism, as Justi, will inevitably lead to the impoverishment and military weakening of a country. Although Justi the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of government discussed extensively under the influence of Montesquieu, he considered a modernized by numerous reform measures monarchy as the only plausible form of government, as only she could coordinate and implement far-reaching economic reforms centrally.

The individual economic reforms are the main subject of Justis economic writings. In addition to measures to population growth and to boost competition ( suppression of guilds and guilds ) and private consumption (Repeal of luxury prohibited ) Justi describes the promotion of factory communications, foreign trade ( funded by state trading companies and the widespread abolition of import and export prohibitions ) of mining and agriculture as the core elements of a comprehensive economic reform program.

After Justi all of these steps can only be successful if they are accompanied by a tax reform, under which, inter alia, Excise Duty should be abolished. For this purpose, wrote the first systematic treatise Justi of Finance in Germany, where in addition to contemporary French writings of the influence of cameral thinkers and Wolff and Pufendorf is recognizable.

While Justi in many respects anticipates approaches thoughts of Adam Smith, similar to its overall argument ( extensive state intervention for the purpose of long-term economic liberalization ) rather the positions of thinkers such as Sir James Stuart.

The political and economic major works by Justi are now quite well understood (see the overview studies by Ulrich Adam and Ferdinand Frensdorff ). Lie to the other parts of Justis extensive oeuvre so far only isolated cases studies.

Theory of projects maker

Particular attention has recently his essay "Thoughts of properties Projects and Project creators " (1761 ) gained. In it he wears a - before Apology of a social type, which was discredited by his contemporaries as notoriously unreliable and morally questionable - possibly autobiographical motivated. In contrast, Justi sets by himself as possibly " paradoxical " designated thesis: "All men are Project maker" or should it be but. And he argues in detail, governments should pay Projects creators definitely hearing, because " so abentheuerlich the people are what make the most of Projects; so can a fallen including a good invention, but sometimes. " Since Projektförmigkeit has gained great importance in industry, science, education and many other areas of the present, Justis true theory of the projects maker on current interest.

Works (selection)

Bibliography of works Justis - Word document

• State economy or systematic treatment of all economic and Cameralwissenschaft, 2 volumes, I II ( 1755)
• Principles of Polizeywissenschaft (1756 )
• The acting needle, the needle is opposite of war. Zwey treatises on the question of whether the Wohlfahrth of the state according to sey, that the nobility exaggerating merchants? Göttingen 1756
• Floor plan of the entire mineral kingdom worinnen all fossils in its essential qualities according, are vorgestellet and described context. Publisher of the widow Vandenhoeck, Göttingen 1757th 2nd edition 1765 ( Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf )