A peculiarity of Germany in this period of development is the so-called Prussian way of developing capitalism with the gradual adaptation of landlord-junker economies to capitalism. Another peculiarity is the fragmentation of the country, the unification of which became in the first half of the XIX century an urgent issue of bourgeois development of Germany.
The fragmentation of Germany made it urgent to realize national unity, both in political and economic terms, and it was this idea of national unity that formed the basis of the views of the brightest German scientist Friedrich List (1789—1846), whose strength lay in boldly raising acute issues of economic policy in the conditions of a relatively backward country.
The English historian of economic thought Lord Lionel Robbins (1898—1984) considers Friedrich List to be a very authoritative figure in the early 19th century in Germany in matters of protectionist policy, who «exerted an influence on the politics of various countries inferior only to that of Adam Smith in his time and Karl Marx in our time»41.
Another great Anglo-Austrian historian of economic thought, Joseph A. Schumpeter (1883—1950) in his History of Economic Analysis states, «as a scientist, the economist List possesses one property that characterizes great scientists, namely, a great vision of the situation of his country, which, while not in itself a scientific achievement, serves as a prerequisite for scientific achievement of a certain type, of which the outstanding example in our day is the work of Keynes» further noting, «List was also not lacking in specifically scientific tools in which the vision must be realized in order to bear scientific fruit; in fact, he was not lacking in the specific scientific tools in which the vision must be realized in order to bear scientific fruit. But parts of this analytical apparatus were not particularly new»42.
Indeed, Friedrich List can be considered the most prominent ideologue of the German bourgeoisie in the first half of the nineteenth century, leading an intensified propaganda for the economic unification of Germany, whose ideas contributed to the formation of «educational protectionism», national economy and history as a method of knowledge of economics.
Hildebrand, comparing the views of List and Müller, argues that «despite the same protest against the Smithian system, both these writers pursue quite opposite interests, and List advocates precisely what Müller rejects. He censures Germany for still clinging too strongly to the old ways and not so vigorously embarking on the path of industrial development, while Müller, on the contrary, censures her for crushing the old and rushing to assimilate English industry»43.
In turn, the Social Democrat Rudolf Hilferding, in his work «Financial Capital», correctly enough notes that «List’s system is by no means a refutation of the theory of free trade, as it was formulated, for example, by Ricardo. It is merely an economic policy which is only meant to make possible a system of free trade by fostering such national industry for which a system of free trade is most appropriate. List’s educational duties were to serve exclusively this purpose; List therefore demanded low duties which were to equalize the difference between the superiority of England and the backwardness of Germany – temporary duties, since his policy was to cause the duties to become finally superfluous… List’s system was recognized as the system of capitalist backward countries.»44
Liszt was born in Reutlingen in the kingdom of Würtenberg (southern Germany), which was until 1814 a vassal of the French Empire. The son of a prosperous artisan, after receiving a school education, he was apprenticed to a scribe. For ten years of service, List held many different positions, a year and a half studied law at the University of Tubingen and finished his career in the rank of counting counselor in the capital of the kingdom of Stuttgart. From 1817, under the patronage of the liberal minister Wangenheim, he was appointed professor of «the practice of public administration» at the University of Tübingen. As noted by historians, List had a great talent as a writer and orator, the clarity of thought which distinguishes all his writings and articles, by nature an enthusiastic, expansive and unusually energetic man. He traveled to Austria, North Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, France, England and, as he writes, everywhere he tried to familiarize himself with the current state of these countries. List can be considered a supporter of radical bourgeois-democratic reforms. He was one of the organizers of the «General Association of German industrialists and merchants» and led an intense propaganda of the ideas of economic unification of Germany. Because of his disagreements with the government, forced to emigrate to the United States in 1825, he returned home only in 1832 as American consul. As he himself notes, in North America, the best book from which to familiarize himself with political economy in this country was life itself. Engaged in business in the United States, where he discovered an anthracite deposit in Pennsylvania and participated in a railroad project, he became quite a wealthy man. With no less energy he tried to realize the idea of creating railroads in Germany. It was thanks to the increased activity of F. List, as historians believe, in 1833 was created the German Customs Union, which can be considered the first step towards the unification of Germany. In 1837, List receives news that the industrial crisis in America ruined him. His strength is no longer sufficient to fight his opponents and the turbulent activity to which he had become accustomed. In the fall of 1846 in the city of Kuvstein, in a hotel he committed suicide.
His main political economy ideas are outlined in the book «National System of Political Economy» (1841). The book was a great success and, according to historians, served a great service in the further national and economic unification of Germany and contributed to the formation of an alternative to the classical school of political economy direction, which would later take shape in the historical school. The reason for the success of the book is probably also the fact that it was timely and pursued the goal of theoretically substantiating the urgent economic needs of Germany. Engels considered Liszt’s work "…the best of what German bourgeois economic literature has produced, although all of his celebrated work was copied from the Frenchman Ferrier». There may be some truth in these words, but it should be noted that any research is the result of analysis, including the literature of its predecessors and, as the author of this study believes, List’s work is a really very deep analysis of the economies of the European countries of his time and the theory of Adam Smith and a number of representatives of the classical school of political economy. It should also be noted that List, being in America, was familiar with the views of the American Minister of Finance (Secretary of the Treasury) Alexander Hamilton (1757—1804), who was the author of the program to encourage the development of national industry, and living in France, with the works and views of statesman and political figure, economist and publicist François Ferrier (1777—1861). Developing the idea of «educational protectionism» put forward by A. Hamilton and F. Ferrier, List advocated active intervention of the state in the economy in order to create a single national market and protect national production until it reached the English level of competitiveness. All this contributed to the expansion of List’s views and, reflecting the historical peculiarities of the development of capitalism in Germany, he, preaching the idea of «educational protectionism» opposes both the adherents of feudal orders and supporters of economic liberalism, and it is deeply substantiated in the work «National System of Political Economy», which he publishes in 1841.
In this work List formulates his position in the consideration of the method, tasks and content of political economy: 1) historicism as a method of political economy; 2) productive forces as a source of wealth of the nation and 3) the national idea as the basis of economic policy of the state.
List creates his own system of historical-economic