- Cameralism
Cameralism was a German science of administration. According to Lindenfeld, it was divided into three:
public finance , "Oeconomie" and "Polizei". [Lindenfeld, pp.14-18] Here "Oeconomie" did not mean exactly 'economics ', nor "Polizei" 'public policy ' in the modern senses. Cameralism was the German counterpart of the Frenchmercantilism ofJean-Baptiste Colbert , and developed also in the eighteenth century.In its origins, it was an educational path for the
civil servant s of the royal chamber, hence its name. The administrator of the royal finances was called "camerarius". Cameralism is a predecessor of the modern science of public administration.The case of Prussia
Cameralism was an economic and social school of thought within 18th century
Prussia to reform society. The state should not only focus on maintaining the law, but should also promote the collective prosperity, for example by taking economic measures. Its objective was to put the complete population in service of the common good.Academic status
In the 18th century the need for administrative expertise grew. King
Frederick William I of Prussia established professoriates in Cameralism at the universities of Frankfurt and Halle. The best known professor of cameralism wasJohann Heinrich Gottlob Justi (1717 -1771 ), who linked Cameralism and the idea of natural law with each other.The University of Utrecht also established a professorate in Cameralism.
Colloquial German
In modern day vernacular, Cameralism can also be used as 'camer', a derivative, a verb meaning to scientifically administrate, or to ramble on in conversation.
References
*David F. Lindenfeld (1997), "The Practical Imagination: The German Sciences of State in the Nineteenth Century"
Notes
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