Friedrich List 101: The Father of the European Union

Friedrich List 101: The Father of the European Union

Friedrich List was a German economist who believed that tariffs on imported goods would promote domestic development. As the founder and manager of the Association of Middle and South German Industrialists, List supported free trade in domestic goods, thus becoming a pioneer in a movement aimed at removing trade barriers between German states. Learn more about Friedrich List’s life, ideas, and contributions to the economy in this Zatrun.com article.

Who is Friedrich List?

Georg Friedrich List, born in 1789, was a self-taught economist. He advocated for civil service reforms in Germany and promoted increased transparency in judicial procedures, actions that led to his exile in 1825. He was appointed to serve as editor of a German-language newspaper in Pennsylvania and moved to the United States.

In 1827, he published “Outlines of American Political Economy,” in which he argued that a national economy in its early stages of industrialisation inevitably required customs duties. The costs of a tariff should be considered an investment in a nation’s future productivity, he said.

After becoming a US citizen, List returned to Germany in 1834 to serve as US consul in Leipzig. There, he became involved in the construction of a railway line between Leipzig and Dresden in 1837. Despite its success, the venture did not meet List’s financial and personal expectations. List then went to France in despair, where he authored his famous book “The National System of Political Economy (1841).” The economist, who constantly faced financial difficulties, fell into depression, and committed suicide in 1846.

His Legacy

Friedrich List, who served as deputy finance minister in Germany in 1816, established the Faculty of Political Science in 1817 upon the recommendation of the education minister. List, who had not received any university education in his lifetime, served as a professor at the faculty he opened at the University of Tübingen until he was exiled. However, he supported the transportation of goods throughout the country with the railway company he founded in Germany.

With his famous books and articles, List played an important role in the formation of the modern world as a liberal economist. He had opinions on the formation of an economic union in Europe. Therefore, many thinkers consider him the father of the idea of the European Union.

Similar News

TREND NEWS
COCOS-BCX (COCOS): Empowering the Future of Blockchain Blockchain technology has created a series of radical changes in the gaming industry. Games built on this technology are more decentralized, transparent, and secure than traditional games. Those familiar with the gaming industry are aware...
The Ultimate Metaverse Guide: Discover the Virtual World Imagine a virtual world where billions of people live, work, shop, learn, and interact with each other from the comfort of their physical world seats. In this virtual ecosystem, you have a digital copy known...
What is Hamster Coin (HAM)? First Meme Coin on the BNB Chain Throughout history, there have been meme coins that have attracted attention with their sudden rise and then disappeared by experiencing crashes. Essentially, these assets do not gain value from fundamental values like large cryptocurrencies such...
Discover Metalcore NFT: 10000 Unique NFTs Metalcore NFT: What is the 10000 Unique NFT Collection? In this article on Zatrun.com, we will answer all the questions that our readers are curious about in detail. At the same time, we will also...
What is Brawler Bearz NFT? Discover the Digital Bears Brawler Bearz NFT: What is the 4169 Unique NFT Collection? In this article on Zatrun.com, we will answer all the questions that our readers are curious about in detail. At the same time, we will...
Mark Zuckerberg 101: The Genius Behind Social Media Empire Mark Zuckerberg is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. He is also a founder and CEO of Meta...