Conclusion
Cameralism lost its dominant status in the early 19th century after having played a significant role in the initial development of political economy, public administration, public finance, statistics, bureaucratic organization, the welfare state, and political practices and thinking in both Germany and Austria.
Nevertheless, the legacy of cameralism was not completely eliminated, as universities continued to teach cameralist science. Generally speaking, contributors to the GHSE did not try to erase the entire cameralist tradition from the discipline of political economy. In fact, many of them previously studied cameralist science at university and were inspired by its goals, principles, and approaches. For example, similar to cameralists, disciples of the GHSE were against destructive competitiveness, wasteful consumption, the overexploitation of natural resources, the destruction of the natural environment, and the laissez-faire approach. Instead, they advocated for a collectivist and ethical approach, whereby the state was the supreme authority and was fully committed to achieving the common good. Other important features of the GHSE that were deeply influenced by cameralism included the use of statistics, the development of public finance and public administration, and support for the progress of social and economic institutions, all of which were important for the development of the national economy. Furthermore, while cameralists and adherents of the GHSE supported a strong state and ruler, neither of them endorsed any form of dictatorship. Both schools of thought maintained that the ruler was not free to act as he wanted, as his actions were to be limited by his own moral and ethical commitments and the legal framework. Additionally, they were opposed to individualistic, immoral, egoistic, and unethical actions on the part of the ruled.Theorists of the GHSE not only kept the fundamental ideas of cameralism alive, they also integrated the historical approach of the HSJ into political economy. At the same time, they distanced themselves from the dogmatic rational deliberation, natural laws, and abstract economic theories of classical orthodoxy. Instead, they focused on the historical approach so as to understand the development of social and economic institutions of society and reveal the laws of historical changes. They believed that it was impossible to properly understand these institutions without a comprehension of the historical process from which they developed.
By integrating the approaches, methods, and ideas of the HSJ and the cameralist tradition into political economy, German political economists of the 19th century were able to develop a program of economic research that was not only opposed to the ideas of the dominant English school of economics, but also managed to achieve international recognition. As a result, German universities became the centers of higher education in the discipline of political economy. Moreover, professors of the GHSE were renowned for providing a high-quality education in political economy, as well as successfully discrediting many of the principles and methods of orthodox classical economics. International journals that were published in many different languages also frequently referenced the views and ideas of the theorists of the GHSE, because they were considered reliable and respectable authorities and sources within the discipline of economics. That means serious scholars around the world had to be familiar with the principles, approaches, ideas, and methods advocated by scholars of the GHSE. In the second half of the 19th century, the impeccable reputation acquired by German universities and their professors resulted in dramatic increases in enrolments on the part of international students seeking to advance their education in political economy to the point that Germany surpassed both Britain and France in terms of the number of applications received from foreign students.
Accordingly, it was accepted that ‘the lead in economics’ was ‘passed from England and France to Germany’ in the mid-19th century, and the influence of theorists of the GHSE increased significantly, both domestically and internationally (Dorfman 1955, 22). Up until the outbreak of WWI, the international success of the GHSE continued with little risk that a rival economic program of research could emerge at a similar scale of advancement and sophistication.Notes
1 The University of Halle was founded in 1694 by Frederick III (1657-1713), who served as the first ‘King in Prussia’ between 1701 and 1713.
2 Political economy is an historical science that mainly studies production and exchange and their relationships with laws, traditions, and income and wealth distribution. More specifically, it examines patterns or laws of evolution of production and exchange in each individual stage of historical development in order to establish general laws. In political economy, society is not divided into economic and political arenas that are independent of each other and ethical values play an important role in economic and political decisions.
3 To increase the growth of population, cameralists focused on safeguarding justice, security, safety, economic prosperity, and property rights of all of its inhabitants, including immigrants.