History of Economic Doctrines: Mercantilism. Late mercantilism

In the 17th century Many pamphlets appeared expounding the doctrine of mercantilism. A striking example give the writings of Thomas Men (1571 --1641), one of the directors of the East India Company. This is very symbolic, because the justification of mercantilism was combined with an apology for colonialism. In 1621, Men published a pamphlet, Discourse on the Trade of England with the East Indies, refuting monetarism and substantiating the theory of the “balance of trade.” In his opinion, trade is the “touchstone of the prosperity of the state,” when proportionality is achieved, first of all, raw materials and essential items, materials needed for war, trade, and crafts are imported. It was pointed out that 10 shillings spent in India on the purchase of goods turns into 35 shillings in London when they are sold. Maine declared that “there is no other means of obtaining money than by trade,” and when the value of exported goods “exceeds the value of annual imports of goods, the money fund of the country will increase.” The activities of the East India Company were justified because it strengthened the fleet and expanded the trade of England.

His second essay bore a very characteristic title - “The Wealth of England in Foreign Trade, or the Balance of Our Foreign Trade, as a Regulator of Our Wealth” (1630). This name very accurately expressed the essence of the “balance of trade” theory. Here it received its classic formulation. True, the work was published only in 1664, after the death of the author, but it played an important role in the development of English mercantilism. The author recommended that foreigners “sell... annually at a large amount what we buy from them,” expand the raw material base of industry in agriculture (plowing up vacant lots), reduce the consumption of foreign goods, intensify competition with foreign merchants (not even stopping at lowering prices, “just not to lose sales”), improve the quality of English products. Luxury is legitimate only when domestic goods are consumed, when “the excesses of the rich can provide work for the poor.”

Men's enrichment of Venice, Genoa, and Holland was considered instructive. In his opinion, England could enrich itself by using shipping, foreign trade, the influx of money, levying duties and turning into a warehouse for foreign goods. The author called the operations of the East India Company “great and noble cause" He considered the export of money acceptable, because “gold generates trade, and trade increases money.” Keeping money in England will not expand its exports, and its abundance is even harmful, causing an increase in the price of goods. Unprofitable ones were also recognized as useful international trade, since it preserved markets for English goods.

Regulating the value of money Men declared useless, since only “ true value our coin,” rather than its name, and condemned the deterioration of the coin and government interference in trade. T. Men vividly expressed the predatory aspirations of the English bourgeoisie of the 17th century.

In France, mercantilism also played a very important role in economic policy absolutism, especially in the 17th century. But the bourgeoisie here was weaker than in England, and absolutism was a dictatorship of the nobility. True, mercantilism in France acquired partly an industrial character, since absolutism intensively implanted the manufacturing industry, often through government subsidies.

The policy of mercantilism was already adopted by Henry IV, encouraging trade in every possible way. He concluded in 1606-1607. a number of treaties with foreign countries, renounced the crown's rights to the escheat of foreign merchants, promoted the colonization of Canada, banned the import of textile goods and the export of valuable raw materials - silk, wool. In the country, with the help of privileges and subsidies, manufacturing production was introduced, especially of luxury goods (which reflected the limitations of noble mercantilism). Richelieu continued this policy in 1624-1642.

Louis XIV's minister Colbert gave enormous scope to the policy of mercantilism in 1661-1683. He believed that the power of a state is determined by the amount of money at its disposal, and this can only be provided by trade, which cannot be increased without crushing the Dutch.

Colbert created the East India Company (1664), encouraged the development of the royal manufacturing industry, and introduced a protective customs tariff. His mercantilist policy contributed to the development of commodity-money relations in France.

The economic program of French mercantilism was outlined in detail only later by Antoine Montchretien (c. 1575-1621) in the work “Treatise of Political Economy” (1615), which gave the name to the whole science. But he presented political economy as a set of rules of economic activity.

Montchretien argued that “people’s happiness lies in wealth, and wealth lies in work,” luxury is legitimate only when consuming local products, when its producers get work and “the profit remains within the country.” The merchants are "more than helpful." Trade -- " the main objective various crafts"; trading profit is legitimate, it compensates for the risk; “gold turned out to be more powerful than iron.”

But foreigners were compared to a pump pumping wealth out of France. Their expulsion, the development of industry, and the improvement of its products were proposed. State intervention in economic life, the collection of taxes and the appropriation of even trade profits were approved. Although Montchretien did not propose to promote the expansion of foreign trade, he had no justification for the idea of ​​a “balance of trade.”

Traces of monetarism were preserved in his work (in an extremely broad interpretation of the prerogatives of the state, in a crude solution to the issue of the fight against foreigners). The problem of capital accumulation was replaced by the problem of the rise of France. Contrary to mercantilism, paramount importance was attached to “natural wealth” (bread, salt, wine, etc.), since it is not the amount of gold and silver that makes a state rich, but “the availability of items necessary for life and clothing.” The state must take care of the peasants. Such recommendations were impossible for English mercantilism.

The surname "Mann" is widely known in literary circles. This family includes Heinrich, a novelist and playwright; Eric, Klaus and Golo are writers; finally, the winner of such prizes as the Nobel and Antonio Feltrinelli is Thomas.

Mann Thomas, short biography which amazes with its richness and inconsistency, and will become the object of consideration.

Master of the Epic Novel

There is an opinion that the artist is opposed to Buddenbrooks as a social type. This is true, but it is a mistake to assume that Thomas Mann prefers the latter. Mann holds neither the burghers nor the artist in high esteem.

Public recognition: Nobel Prize

Recognition did not come to Thomas Mann immediately. It is known that only 100 copies were purchased in the year of release. family romance"Buddenbrooks." But 30 years later, in 1929, it was thanks to him that the writer forever inscribed his name on the list of Nobel laureates.

Already during his lifetime, the works of Thomas Mann began to be called classics.

After the award was awarded, the novel “Buddenbrooks” was released in a million copies.

Beginning in 1933, the biography of Thomas Mann became the biography of a man to whom young writers looked up. Mann traveled around the country and gave lectures, including excerpts from his own works.

Thomas Mann: biography, creativity - everything merged together

The second successful creation of Thomas Mann was the work “Tonio Kröger”, published in the collection “Tristan” (1903). In it, the author again demonstrated the contradictions that worried him between the world of creativity and the bourgeois world.

We can say that life and creativity for Mann were inextricably linked. The novel “Buddenbrooks” was not the only work that reflected the writer’s personal life and opinion.

Such is the play “Florence”, published in 1907. Its characters speak through the writer’s mouth, voicing his opinion about Thomas’s contemporary bourgeois world.

A similar view of society is inherent in most of his works, but the novel “Royal Highness” is closest to the play. Thomas Mann wrote that in it he "preaches humanity."

A trustworthy family man and father, a fan of same-sex love

Thomas Mann, whose biography is replete with contradictions in ideological preferences, is interesting not only for his creative heritage, but also for his sexual preferences.

The main contradiction that has manifested itself on the love front is the external family idyll and addiction to same-sex love.

The diaries and correspondence released after the writer's death presented Thomas Mann in a frightening light.

It followed from them that the laureate Nobel Prize, father of six children, Paul Thomas Mann had a deep interest in the male sex. Moreover, this interest was not limited to intellectual knowledge, which characterized Mann Thomas during his lifetime.

The writer’s short biography does not provide the necessary information, and this prompted researchers to study his life in detail.

Who did Thomas Mann love?

The first signs of a strange love for boys appeared in at a young age. Fourteen-year-old Thomas had an unrequited feeling for his classmate Arnim Marten.

The second unrequited feeling arose two years later. While studying in England, Paul fell in love with the son of a physical education teacher.

The only romance that, according to researchers, was far from platonic was a relationship with the artist Paul Ehrenberg. The relationship lasted for 5 years (from 1899 to 1904) and ended after the writer entered into a legal marriage with Katya Prinsheim.

Despite his addictions, Thomas Mann passionately desired to have a family and children. However, even the strongest love for his wife did not prevent him from looking at men. From the writer’s diaries it is known that thoughts about beauty male body did not leave him until the end of his days.

The latest hobby was Franz Westermeier. 75-year-old Thomas Mann fell asleep and woke up with thoughts about the Bavarian waiter. But everything was limited only to dreams.

Film adaptations of the works of Thomas Mann

Works written by the writer began to be filmed during his lifetime. The number of film adaptations from 1923 to 2008 exceeds 30. And this takes into account the fact that the biography of Thomas Mann by dates and creative heritage contains only one single work, adapted for stage production or film production - the play "Florence". By the way, it was not filmed. But “Buddenbrooks” has become one of the most popular works written by Thomas Mann in terms of film adaptation.

Basic concepts and problems economic theory.

Economy is the activity of people associated with ensuring the material conditions of their lives. ET studies the sphere of production and distribution of vital goods in conditions of limited resources. This means that the object of study is ET phenomena. a decisive area of ​​human life, without which no other form of realization of personal and public interests is possible. The subject of ET is first of all eq. relations between people that develop in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption. There is real and shadow E (tax evasion). In any society, a triune problem is solved (Samuelson): what to produce, how to produce, for whom to produce. ET performs a number of functions that characterize its social purpose and role. The following functions of ET are distinguished: 1. Cognitive. It follows from the main task of ek-science - knowledge of the essence of ek-phenomena, the objective laws of ek-development. 2. Methodological. J. Keynes believed that ET is not a set of ready-made recommendations applied directly to households. practice. It is rather a method, an intellectual tool, a thinking technique, helping those who own it to come to the right conclusions. 3. Practical. Its content is to ensure economic policy. The results of the development of ET are directly used in practice. 4. Prognostic. It consists of developing scientific forecasts and prospects for economic development. In modern economic theory, it is customary to distinguish 3 sections: 1) microeconomics is a part of economic science that considers issues of one economic unit (firm, household) or private business; 2) macroeconomics is a part of economic theory that examines economic issues on a national scale, while society is considered as a collection of firms and households; 3) world economy (intereconomics) studies economic relations in the world community.

Mercantilism. Thomas Maine, Discourse on the Trade of England with the East Indies.

Special attention began to pay attention to the economy back in Ancient Rome. That is why economic theory is considered one of the most ancient sciences. As a science, economic theory arose in the late 16th – early 18th centuries. Mercantilism (England) is considered the first school of economic science. The main representatives of this trend were Thomas Mann, John Lowe, Richard Cantillon. “Mercantilism” is translated from Italian as “trade”. And for good reason. Representatives of this school considered trade to be the main source of wealth, and wealth was identified with gold. Wealth is money, money can only be obtained through cooperation with state power. Basic principles of mercantilism: 1) gold and other treasures are the main wealth of society; 2) the main source of wealth is foreign trade and money circulation to ensure the influx of gold and silver into the country; 3) the state must actively intervene in the country’s economy; 4) domestic production develops due to the import of cheap raw materials; 5) export is encouraged; 6) low level of maintenance wages due to population growth. Mercantilists considered an excess of exports over imports (active trade balance) to be a necessary condition for economic development. There are two stages in the development of mercantilism: 1) “early” mercantilism (until the middle of the 16th century); the most important thing in it is that money is the subject of treasures, 2) “late” mercantilism (mid-16th - mid-17th centuries); the beginning of establishing trade relations between countries through the supply of relatively cheap goods; the use of gold and silver is more common in intermediary transactions. Thomas Maine: it is necessary to export silver and gold abroad so as not to buy goods from the Turks and Levantines at three prices. Man published “A Discourse on England's Trade with the East Indies,” refuting monetarism (monetarism is a macroeconomic theory according to which the amount of money in circulation is a determining factor in the development of the economy) and substantiating the theory of “balance of trade.” In this pamphlet, Man noted that the East India Company was created not only as an enterprise that brought profit to its owners (shareholders), but also as an instrument of government policy. Man argued that the company was right in taking money out of England, because in the end it turns into importing more money into the country. more money. To explain his position, Man uses the “farmer’s metaphor”: the farmer, scattering grain (read “money”), expects a harvest that will not only cover the costs of the grain, but will also recoup them a hundredfold. In other words, in order to increase the flow of precious metals into the country, you must first spend a certain amount of them.

3) Physiocracy. Francois Quesnay and his "Economic Table".

With the development of production, a new movement appears - physiocratism (power of nature), this term was introduced by Adam Smith. The main representatives of this school are Francois Canet (founder), Anne Robert, Jacques Turgot. The physiocrats considered wealth not money, but “the products of the earth.” Agricultural production, and not trade and industry, with their specifications, is the source of society’s wealth. For physiocrats, the wealth of a nation increases if there is and is constantly reproduced a difference between the products that are produced in agriculture and the products that were used to produce these products during the year, that is, the so-called land rent in kind. F. Quesnay called this difference “pure product” and considered the only “productive class” in society to be the landowner class. Quesnay argued that “among all the means for acquiring property, there is not one that would be better, more profitable, more pleasant and decent for a person, even more worthy for free man than agriculture." The main work of F. Quesnay “Economic Table” (1758) contains a scheme for dividing society into three main classes: 1) the productive class of farmers; 2) class of land owners; 3) “sterile class” - people not employed in agriculture. All three classes interact with each other and use money as a medium of exchange. The economic process was presented to the physiocrats as a natural harmony, which could even be described strictly mathematically. An integral part The economic theory of physiocratism is the idea of ​​government non-interference in the course of economic life.

MANN, THOMAS(Mann, Thomas) (1875–1955), German writer. Born on June 6, 1875 in Lübeck, into a family of wealthy businessmen that played a significant role in Lübeck and other Hanseatic cities in Northern Germany. His elder brother, Heinrich (1871–1950), was a well-known novelist, essayist and playwright, and his three children - Klaus, Erica and Golaud - became famous writers themselves.

Mann spent his childhood in Lübeck; he studied in Lübeck and Munich, where the family moved after the death of his father in 1891. As a university student, he independently and enthusiastically studied A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche and R. Wagner.

After unsuccessful attempt to make a business career, Mann and his brother Heinrich went to Italy in the mid-1890s, where they stayed for two and a half years, devoting them mainly to working on their first significant novel Buddenbrooks (Buddenbrooks, 1901), which became a bestseller.

Upon returning to Munich, Mann, until 1914, led a life common to the prosperous “apolitical” intellectuals of that time. Germany's role in World War I and its subsequent unpopularity abroad sparked Mann's interest in national and international politics. His Reflections of an apolitical (Betrachtungen eines Unpolitischen, 1918), as well as short essays from the war, represent an attempt by a German conservative patriot to justify his country's position in the eyes of the democratic West.

By the end of the war, Mann had moved closer to the Democratic position. After receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature (1929), he gained recognition throughout Europe and beyond. In the 1920s and early 1930s, the writer repeatedly warned his compatriots against the threat of Hitlerism; in 1933 his voluntary emigration began. Having become a US citizen in 1944, Mann decided not to return to Germany after the war, and a few years later he left the US and settled in Switzerland, in Kilchberg near Zurich. Last years his life was marked by new literary achievements. A few days before his death, which followed on August 12, 1955, he was awarded Germany's highest Order of Merit.

At the core Buddenbrooks are Mann's observations of his family, friends, morals hometown, behind the decline of a family belonging to the hereditary middle class. Realistic in method and detail, the novel, in fact, symbolically depicts the relationship between the burgher world and the spiritual world. However, the book is easy to read; it tells a story, and more than one, with many colorful characters and humorous and touching episodes. Book Royal Highness (Königliche Hoheit, 1909), like all of Mann’s works, is autobiographical in a certain sense. This is a “novel of education”: love leads the young prince to maturity and the “harsh happiness” that comes with the awareness of responsibility. Many genuine pearls are found in the writer’s short stories. Among the early short stories, especially noteworthy are Tonio Kröger (Tonio Kroger, 1903) and Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig, 1912); Among the later short stories, it occupies an outstanding place Mario and the Wizard (Mario und der Zauberer, 1931), where we are talking about freedom.

Perhaps Mann's most important book is a novel of ideas. Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg, 1924). Hans Castorp, the young hero of the novel, is much more viable than Mann's previous sophisticated artists, who were depressed business people and lame princes. But the “difficult child of life” Castorp has his own misfortune: due to tuberculosis, he spends seven years in a mountain sanatorium in Switzerland. The reader gradually understands that the sanatorium and its patients are a grandiose symbol of pre-war Europe, and Castorp embodies a typical German burgher, in in a certain sense and Thomas Mann himself.

Monumental tetralogy Joseph and his brothers (Joseph und seine Bruder, 1934–1944) even more clearly than Magic Mountain, is focused on “friendliness to life.” Mann developed a short biblical story into a huge narrative describing the troubles and successes of the hero. Joseph also a “novel of education,” but here not only a gifted personality grows, but also the Jewish people, and in a certain sense, God himself. Trends that emerged in early work, now come to the fore: interest in politics, interest in myth and passion for Freudian psychoanalysis.

Novel Lotta in Weimar (Lotte in Weimar, 1940) reflected Mann's growing interest in Goethe. This is the story of the second meeting of the aging Goethe with Charlotte Buff, who in his youth inspired him to write a book that brought him European fame - Suffering young Werther . The novel is far from ordinary historical or sentimental works: Lotta in Weimar, as well as Joseph, primarily a study of psychology and myth. The influence of genius on the lives of ordinary, “normal” contemporaries is shown with almost frightening tactility.

Doctor Faustus (Doctor Faustus, 1947), probably Mann's most complex novel, deals mainly with the theme of damnation, the "selling of the soul." Talented musician Adrian Leverkühn makes a deal with the devil to overcome the creative sterility of the twentieth century and make a breakthrough towards originality. So the German nation, which entered world politics late, sold its soul in order to gain power and strength. These two main themes of the novel are intertwined with each other; The finale is especially shocking, when the story of the collapse of Leverkühn merges with the chronicle last days Hitler's Reich.

Mann's next novel, Chosen One (Der Erwählte, 1951), is exemplary fiction. It is based largely on Gregorius medieval German poet Hartmann von Aue. It's about about sin, redemption and God's forgiveness. Mann touches on the theme of incest and God's mercy here. Abundance word game and other stylistic means will tell the attentive reader that this novel from beginning to end is a parody.

Confessions of adventurer Felix Krul (Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull, 1954) is the most famous of Mann's later novels. Conceived even before the First World War, this “picaresque” novel reflects the author’s constant belief that every artist is a dubious type, akin to a criminal. The lovable swindler Felix Krul is truly an artist in life, gifted with a rich imagination, charm and in his own way creative person. Krul was truly a huge success.

For creative path Mann wrote a number of large and small essays, drawing themes from the cultural field before the First World War, then including the political sphere. A number of Mann's major essays are dedicated to the three idols of his youth - Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Wagner, as well as I.V. Goethe, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, F. Schiller, Z. Freud and others. His political essays are these are reflections on two world wars and the emergence of Hitlerism.

Biography

Paul Thomas Mann (German: Paul Thomas Mann, June 6, 1875, Lubeck - August 12, 1955, Zurich) - German writer, essayist, master of the epic novel, Nobel Prize winner in literature (1929), brother of Heinrich Mann, father of Klaus Mann, Golo Mann and Erica Mann.

Thomas Mann is an outstanding German writer, author of epic works, Nobel Prize laureate in literature, the most eminent representative of the Mann family, rich in creative talents. Born June 6, 1875 in Lübeck. At the age of 16, Thomas finds himself in Munich: the family moves there after the death of his father, a merchant and city senator. He would live in this city until 1933.

After graduating from school, Thomas gets a job at insurance company and is engaged in journalism, intending to follow the example of his brother Heinrich, at that time an aspiring writer. During 1898-1899. T. Mann edits the satirical magazine Simplicissimus. The first publication dates back to this time - a collection of stories “Little Mister Friedemann”. The first novel, “Buddenbrooks,” which tells about the fate of a merchant dynasty and was autobiographical in nature, made Mann a famous writer.

In 1905 in personal life Manna happens an important event- marriage to Katya Pringsheim, a noble Jewish woman, the daughter of a mathematics professor, who became the mother of his six children. Such a party allowed the writer to become included in the society of representatives of the big bourgeoisie, which contributed to the strengthening of the conservatism of his political views.

T. Mann supported the First world war, condemned social reforms and pacifism, experiencing serious spiritual crisis. A huge difference in beliefs caused a break with Henry, and only Thomas's transition to a democratic position made reconciliation possible. In 1924, the novel “The Magic Mountain” was published, which brought T. Mann world fame. In 1929, thanks to “Buddenbrooks,” he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The period following the award in the biography of Thomas Mann is marked by an increasing role of politics in his life and in his work in particular. The writer and his wife did not return to Nazi Germany from Switzerland when Hitler came to power in 1933. Having settled not far from Zurich, they spend a lot of time traveling. The German authorities attempted to return the eminent writer to the country, and in response to his categorical refusal, they deprived him of German citizenship and took away an honorary doctorate from the University of Bonn. Having first become a subject of Czechoslovakia, Mann emigrated to the United States in 1938, where for three years he taught humanities at Princeton University and advised the Library of Congress on issues German literature. During 1941-1952. his life path associated with California.

After the end of World War II, life in the United States was complicated by the fact that T. Mann, who was keen on the ideas of socialism, was accused of complicity Soviet Union. In East and West Germany he is greeted extremely cordially, but the writer decides not to return to his homeland, which has turned into two camps. In 1949, on behalf of both Germanys, he was awarded the Goethe Prize (in addition, Mann was awarded honorary degrees by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford).

The most significant works of art This period includes the novel “Doctor Faustus” and the tetralogy “Joseph and His Brothers,” on which he worked for more than ten years. The last novel, “The Adventures of the Adventurer Felix Krul,” remained unfinished.

In the summer of 1952, T. Mann and his family came to Switzerland and lived there until his death in 1955.

Thomas Mann - list of all books

All genres Novel Fairy tale/Parable Prose

Roman (60%)

Fairy Tale/Parable (20%)

Prose (20%)

Especially if you take into account how much women - you may smile that I, in my youth, allow myself some generalizations - how much they, in their attitude towards a man, depend on the attitude of men towards them - then you will be surprised nothing. Women, I would say, are creatures in which reactions are very strong, but they are deprived of independent initiative, lazy - in the sense that they are passive. Allow me, albeit rather clumsily, to develop my thought further. A woman, as far as I have been able to notice, considers herself primarily an object in love affairs, she allows love to approach her, she does not choose freely and becomes a choosing subject only on the basis of the man’s choice; and even then, let me add, freedom of choice - of course, if the man is not too insignificant - is not a necessary condition; freedom of choice is influenced, the woman is captivated by the fact that she was chosen. My God, these are, of course, commonplaces, but when you are young, everything naturally seems new, new and amazing to you. You ask a woman: “Do you love him?” “But he loves me so much,” she answers you. And at the same time, he either raises his gaze to the sky or lowers his gaze. Just imagine that we men would give such an answer - excuse me for generalizing! Maybe there are men who would answer that way, but they would be simply funny, these heroes are under the shoe of love, I will say in an epigrammatic style. It’s interesting to know what kind of self-esteem a man might be talking about when he gives such a feminine answer. And does a woman believe that she should treat a man with boundless devotion, because he, having chosen her, showed mercy to such a lowly creature, or does she see in a man’s love for his person sure sign his superiority? During my hours of reflection, I have asked myself this question more than once. “With your well-aimed words, you touched upon the primordial classical facts of antiquity, a certain sacred fact,” said Peperkorn. “A man is intoxicated by desire, a woman demands that his desire intoxicate her.” Hence our duty to experience a genuine feeling, hence the unbearable shame for insensibility, for our powerlessness to awaken desire in a woman.

From the book “The Magic Mountain” -

If you are a champion of health, then allow me to tell you that it has little in common with art and spirit, to some extent it is even contraindicated for them, and, in any case, health and spirit are not at all interested in each other.

From the book "Doctor Faustus" -