Georg Friedrich Knapp (; March 7, 1842 – February 20, 1926)
was a German
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
who in 1905 published ''The State Theory of Money'', which founded the
chartalist
In macroeconomics, chartalism is a heterodox theory of money that argues that money originated historically with states' attempts to direct economic activity rather than as a spontaneous solution to the problems with barter or as a means with wh ...
school of
monetary theory
Monetary economics is the branch of economics that studies the different competing theories of money: it provides a framework for analyzing money and considers its functions (such as medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account), and it ...
, which argues that money's value derives from its issuance by an institutional form of government rather than spontaneously through relations of exchange.
Biography
Knapp was born on March 7, 1842. His father was the acclaimed chemist
Friedrich Ludwig Knapp
Friedrich Ludwig Knapp (February 22, 1814, Michelstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse – June 8, 1904, Braunschweig) was a German chemist. He was the father of economist Georg Friedrich Knapp and the grandfather of social reformer Elly Heuss-Knapp.
Biog ...
.
Knapp studied in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
, and in 1867 became director of the Statistical Bureau of
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. In 1869 he was appointed assistant professor of economics and statistics in the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
.
In 1874 he was appointed a professor of political economy at the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
, where he remained until 1918. He was also rector at Strasbourg in 1891–1892 and 1907–1908.
In 1886, he founded the periodical ''Abhandlungen aus dem staatswissenschaftlichen Seminar zu Strassburg''.
Family
Knapp was the father of
Elly Heuss-Knapp
Elisabeth Eleonore Anna Justine Heuss-Knapp (''née'' Knapp; 25 January 1881 – 19 July 1952) was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), social reformer, author and wife of German president Theodor Heuss. She was the founde ...
, the future wife of
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor Ko ...
, the first
President of the Federal Republic of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
.
He raised his two daughters alone, uncommon at the time, after their
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
-born mother, Knapp's wife Lydia v. Karganow,
became mentally ill.
''The State Theory of Money''
Knapp is mostly remembered for this book which was partially translated into English by the Royal Economic Society and published for the first time in the United Kingdom in 1924, nineteen years after its first publication in German.
''The State Theory of Money'' sets about to build a theory which could encompass indifferent monetary systems based on precious metals or paper money. Knapp's approach is naturalistic. As a theorist, he does not want to recommend what the monetary ought to be, nor does he explore how money could be put to use in order to attain certain goals. Drawing almost entirely on examples set in 19th century Europe, he derives from them a genetic and then a functional classification. In the process, the book reveals that some of what had been previously thought to be 'specie' money, was simply what he calls 'chartal hylogenic money'. An avowed Chartalist, Knapp does not advocate paper money pure and simple, he points out effectively that the Metallists with their theory cannot effectively explain some observed phenomena which they call 'anomalies'. To the contrary, Knapp thinks his theory is able to explain the manifold monetary systems mentioned in the book. Apart from its theoretical insights, the book is particularly interesting in that it is a very detailed source of information on 19th century European monetary history, focusing on the following countries: England, France, Holland, Austria and Germany. Due to a lack of financial means, the Royal Economic Society voluntary omitted the translation of Chapter IV which contains a historical review of England, France, Germany, Austria, and appendices containing specific case studies. All the same, even in its abridged English version ''The State Theory of Money'' depicts precisely the many changes which happened during the course of the 19th century: a general move from bimetallism to monometallism, the appearance and disappearance of paper money systems (in particular the Austrian one of 1866), the almost systematic use of paper money by the State in case of war alongside existing means of payment, the emergence of bank-notes and the use of Giro payments etc.
Publications
His earlier writings deal chiefly with population and agricultural topics.
*
* ("On the ascertainment of mortality").
* ("Mortality in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
").
*
* ("The theory of population fluctuations").
* ("The liberation of peasants and the origins of the agriculturalist in the older parts of Prussia").
* ("The liberation of peasants and the origins of the agriculturalist in the older parts of Prussia").
* ("The farmer in serfdom and freedom").
*
**
**
**
** Translation of the fourth edition.
* ("Land ownership and seignorial lands").
*
Honours
*
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts
Pour may refer to these people:
* Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent
* Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer
* Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer
* Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...
(January 24, 1918).
See also
*
Fiat money
Fiat money (from la, fiat, "let it be done") is a type of currency that is not backed by any commodity such as gold or silver. It is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender. Throughout history, fiat money was sometime ...
vs.
commodity money
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods.
This is in contrast to representati ...
*
Modern Monetary Theory
Modern Monetary Theory or Modern Money Theory (MMT) is a heterodox
*
*
*
*
*
* macroeconomic theory that describes currency as a public monopoly and unemployment as evidence that a currency monopolist is overly restricting the supply of t ...
*
Keynesianism
Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output and ...
References
External links
Archive for the History of Economic Thought''The State Theory of Money''(English translation). 1924.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Georg Friedrich
1842 births
1926 deaths
University of Göttingen alumni
University of Strasbourg faculty
Historical school economists
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
20th-century German economists
19th-century German economists