Bruno Hildebrand (6 March 1812 – 29 January 1878) was a German economist representing the "older"

historical school of economics The historical school of economics was an approach to academic economics and to public administration that emerged in the 19th century in Germany, and held sway there until well into the 20th century. The professors involved compiled massive econ ...

. His economic thinking was highly critical of

classical economists Classical economics, classical political economy, or Smithian economics is a school of thought in political economy that flourished, primarily in Britain, in the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th century. Its main thinkers are held to be Adam Smith ...

, especially of

David Ricardo David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British Political economy, political economist. He was one of the most influential of the Classical economics, classical economists along with Thomas Robert Malthus, Thomas Malthus, Ad ...

. His ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'' was ''Economics of the Present and the Future'' (1848). The basic aim of this work was to establish laws of economic development. Hildebrand also stated that economic development was linear not cyclical. He supported socialist theory on the basis of religion, basic morals, and his beliefs of the negative effect of property on economic behavior. Like many other representatives of the

German Historical School :''This is an article about a school of thought in the area of law. For economics, see historical school of economics.'' The German Historical School of Jurisprudence is a 19th-century intellectual movement in the study of German law. With Romant ...

such as

Friedrich List Georg Friedrich List (6 August 1789 – 30 November 1846) was a German-American economist who developed the "National System" of political economy. He was a forefather of the German historical school of economics, and argued for the German Customs ...

, Karl Knies, and

Karl Bücher Karl Wilhelm Bücher (16 February 1847, Kirberg, Hesse – 12 November 1930, Leipzig, Saxony) was a German economist, one of the founders of non-market economics, and the founder of journalism as an academic discipline. Biography Early life ...

, Hildebrand was a political

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

who advocated liberal institutions and a constitutional state, and participated in the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

of 1848. An economics professor in

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

, he was accused of high treason with respect to the turmoil of 1848 and condemned to death. He avoided the execution of this sentence by escaping to Switzerland, where he served as an associate professor at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. Together with

Alfred Escher Johann Heinrich Alfred Escher vom Glas, known as Alfred Escher (20 February 1819 – 6 December 1882) was a Swiss politician, business leader and railways pioneer. Thanks to his numerous political posts and his significant role in the foundat ...

he was a co-founder and CEO of the

Swiss Northeastern Railway The Swiss Northeastern Railway (''Schweizerische Nordostbahn''; NOB) was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the ...

and also was the founder of the Swiss National Bureau Federal Statistical Office. Hildebrand also created and directed the publication
Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik
; for his contributions he was granted honorary Swiss citizenship. He became a professor at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

. Hildebrand returned then to Germany, where he was a professor at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. His son was the artist and sculptor

Adolf von Hildebrand Adolf von Hildebrand (6 October 1847 – 18 January 1921) was a German sculptor. Life Hildebrand was born at Marburg, the son of Marburg economics professor Bruno Hildebrand. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg, with Kaspar von ...

. His grandson was the Catholic philosopher

Dietrich von Hildebrand Dietrich Richard Alfred von Hildebrand (12 October 1889 – 26 January 1977) was a German Roman Catholic philosopher and religious writer. Hildebrand was called "the twentieth-century Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII. He was a leading ...

. His great-great-grandson is environmental leader

Martin von Hildebrand Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

References

External links

Hildebrand, Bruno
at Encyclopedia

at ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrand, Bruno 1812 births 1878 deaths People from Naumburg (Saale) People from the Kingdom of Saxony German economists

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

Members of the Frankfurt Parliament Leipzig University alumni University of Breslau alumni University of Breslau faculty University of Marburg faculty University of Zurich faculty University of Bern faculty University of Jena faculty Historical school economists

References

Further reading

External links