By Kari Saastamoinen, with project members Ere Nokkala and Adriana Luna Fabritius
The project offers a reassessment of cameralism as one of the significant currents of early modern European political thought. It has been customary to present cameralism as a German version of mercantilism developed in the service of princely propaganda. The project challenges such understanding of cameralism, analyzing the forms cameralism received in Italy, Germany and Sweden. Based on wide source material from these four European contexts, the project shows cameralism was a broader and often more sophisticated phenomenon than what is usually assumed. Many cameralists saw themselves as experts whose task is to develop growth-oriented political economy in the interest of all citizens. The project will transform our understanding of the character and significance of cameralism in eighteenth-century Europe.
The project will run from 01.09.2018 to 31.08.2022.