Gottlieb Hufeland
Encyclopedia
Gottlieb Hufeland was a German
economist
and jurist
.
Born in Danzig (Gdańsk)
, in the province of Royal Prussia
, Hufeland was educated at the gymnasium
of his native town, and completed his university studies at Leipzig
and Göttingen. He graduated at Jena, and in 1788 was there appointed to an extraordinary professorship. Five years later he was made ordinary professor.
His lectures on natural law
, in which he developed with great acuteness and skill the formal principles of the Kantian
theory of legislation, attracted a large audience, and contributed to raise to its height the fame of the University of Jena, then unusually rich in able teachers. In 1803, after the departure of many of his colleagues from Jena, Hufeland accepted a call to Würzburg
, from which, after but a brief tenure of a professorial chair, he proceeded to Landshut. From 1806 to 1812 he acted as burgomaster
in his native town of Danzig. Returning to Landshut, he lived there until 1816, when he was invited to Halle, where he died.
Hufeland's works on the theory of legislation:
They are distinguished by precision of statement and clearness of deduction. They form on the whole the best commentary upon Kant's Rechtslehre, the principles of which they carry out in detail, and apply to the discussion of positive law
s.
In political economy
Hufeland's chief work is the Neue Grundlegung der Staatswirthschaftskunst (2 vols, 1807 and 1813), the second volume of which has the special title, Lehre vom Gelde und Geldumlaufe. The principles of this work are for the most part those of Adam Smith
's Wealth of Nations, which were then beginning to he accepted and developed in Germany; but both in his treatment of fundamental notions, such as economic good and value
, and in details, such as the theory of money, Hufeland's treatment has a certain originality.
Two points in particular seem deserving of notice. Hufeland was the first among German economists to point out the profit of the entrepreneur
as a distinct species of revenue with laws peculiar to itself. He also tends towards, though he does not explicitly state the view that rent
is a general term applicable to all payments resulting from differences of degree among productive forces of the same order. Thus the superior gain of a specially gifted workman or specially skilled employer is in time assimilated to the payment for a natural agency of more than the minimum efficiency.
See Roscher, Geschichte der National-Ökonomik in Deutschland 654-662.
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Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
.
Born in Danzig (Gdańsk)
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, in the province of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
, Hufeland was educated at the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
of his native town, and completed his university studies at Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and Göttingen. He graduated at Jena, and in 1788 was there appointed to an extraordinary professorship. Five years later he was made ordinary professor.
His lectures on natural law
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
, in which he developed with great acuteness and skill the formal principles of the Kantian
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
theory of legislation, attracted a large audience, and contributed to raise to its height the fame of the University of Jena, then unusually rich in able teachers. In 1803, after the departure of many of his colleagues from Jena, Hufeland accepted a call to Würzburg
University of Würzburg
The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
, from which, after but a brief tenure of a professorial chair, he proceeded to Landshut. From 1806 to 1812 he acted as burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
in his native town of Danzig. Returning to Landshut, he lived there until 1816, when he was invited to Halle, where he died.
Hufeland's works on the theory of legislation:
- Versuch über den Grundsatz Naturrechts (1785)
- Lehrbuch des Naturrechts (1.790)
- Institutionen des gesammten positiven Rechts (1798)
- Lehrbuch der Geschichte und Encyclopadie alter in Deutschland geltenden positiven Rechte (1790)
They are distinguished by precision of statement and clearness of deduction. They form on the whole the best commentary upon Kant's Rechtslehre, the principles of which they carry out in detail, and apply to the discussion of positive law
Positive law
Positive law is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow specific privileges upon, or remove them from, an individual or group...
s.
In political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
Hufeland's chief work is the Neue Grundlegung der Staatswirthschaftskunst (2 vols, 1807 and 1813), the second volume of which has the special title, Lehre vom Gelde und Geldumlaufe. The principles of this work are for the most part those of Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
's Wealth of Nations, which were then beginning to he accepted and developed in Germany; but both in his treatment of fundamental notions, such as economic good and value
Value (economics)
An economic value is the worth of a good or service as determined by the market.The economic value of a good or service has puzzled economists since the beginning of the discipline. First, economists tried to estimate the value of a good to an individual alone, and extend that definition to goods...
, and in details, such as the theory of money, Hufeland's treatment has a certain originality.
Two points in particular seem deserving of notice. Hufeland was the first among German economists to point out the profit of the entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
as a distinct species of revenue with laws peculiar to itself. He also tends towards, though he does not explicitly state the view that rent
Economic rent
Economic rent is typically defined by economists as payment for goods and services beyond the amount needed to bring the required factors of production into a production process and sustain supply. A recipient of economic rent is a rentier....
is a general term applicable to all payments resulting from differences of degree among productive forces of the same order. Thus the superior gain of a specially gifted workman or specially skilled employer is in time assimilated to the payment for a natural agency of more than the minimum efficiency.
See Roscher, Geschichte der National-Ökonomik in Deutschland 654-662.
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