Natural Law and the Origin of Political Economy

Arild Sæther is Professor Emeritus. He retired from University of Agder, Kristiansand Norway in 2011 and is now affiliated with Agder Academy of Sciences and Letters. Recently he received his Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. Philos) from the Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen. Previously he worked for two and a half years as a Professor of European Economic Integration in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and three years as Director of EuroFaculty Tartu-Riga-Vilnius. Sæther has published books on economic theory and a number of journal articles. For over twenty years his main area of research has been the history of economic thought.

Introduction

Part I: Childhood and Education












Childhood: Turbulent Times









University Education in Leipzig and Jena







A Creative Imprisonment in Copenhagen


Part II: A True European






Academic Career







A Champion of the Enlightenment


Part III: Doctrines of Political Economy






Method of Analysis







Theory of Human Behaviour







Private Property and the Four-Stages Theory







Theories of Value, Money and Trade







The Foundation of States and Council Decisions







Division of State Powers and Principles of Taxation


Part IV: Diffusion of Pufendorf’s Economic Ideas






A Great Popularizer







John Locke an Admirer of Pufendorf


Part V: Early French Philosophers and Pufendorf






The First French Followers







Charles Montesquieu: A Great Philosopher







Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Political Thinker







The First Economic Model Builders


Part VI: Scottish Followers of Pufendorf






Gershom Carmichael brought Pufendorf to Scotland







Francis Hutcheson a User of Pufendorf







Pufendorf as a Predecessor of Adam Smith


Part VII: How could Pufendorf be Overlooked?






The Bedevilled Historians







Have Economists Overlooked Pufendorf?







Pufendorf the Grandfather of Political Economy