A Projector in the business context is an individual who promotes a project or scheme to combine
public benefit
In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...
and
private profit.
The term came into use in sixteenth century
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and remained in popular language until the nineteenth century when it fell from use.
The term has often been used pejoratively.
Early use of the term
This use of the term projector emerged during the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
(1558–1603). In previous decades bureaucratic initiatives to stimulate domestic production were already referred to as projects. When rising prices and unemployment marked the early years of Elizabeth I’s reign, the government sought a remedy in the expansion of domestic manufacturing and thus the role of the projector emerged. The issue chartered patents for new projects provided monopolies and privileges for potential projectors, who thus played an important role in developing economic activity.
The Age of Projectors
The re-organisation of the state following the
Glorious Revolution of 1688 – particularly in regard to new fiscal arrangements such as the creation Europe’s first widely circulating credit currency – inaugurated the "Age of Projectors".
In 1693
Daniel Defoe wrote ''
An Essay Upon Projects'' in which he declared that he was living in a "Projecting Age".
Many proposals combined the prospect of military conquest with that of commercial expansion.
References
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Business terms
Projectors (business)