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Ivan Pososhkov: Russian Critic of Mercantilist Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2018

Bickford O'Brien
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Extract

The transition in economic doctrine from the Age of Mercantilism to that of the physiocrats has had strong appeal for economic historians. The views of such writers as Melon, Boisguillebert, Locke, Pufendorf, and others on the wealth and power of the state have been carefully studied in terms of principles identified with mercantilism, kameralism, and “physiocracy.” That the transition in the economic outlook of Europe between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was “revolutionary” in nature and not limited to Western Europe alone has been widely recognized, but the remarkable parallelism that existed in the outlook of economic theorists of Eastern and Western Europe has not been so well understood. An example of this has been the ambiguity that persists in evaluating the economic views of the Russian reformer, Ivan Pososhkov.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , December 1955 , pp. 503 - 511
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1955

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References

1 “Petition of the Widow of I. T. Pososhkov to the Sovereign Emperor, Ivan VI, July 1728,"” in Chtenija v imperatorskom obshchestve istorii i drevnostej rossijskikh prienija v imperatorskom obshchestve istorii i drevnostej rossijskikh pri MosMoskovskom universitete kovskom universitete (Moscow, 1867), CC, No. 3, 14.

2 A full treatment of the main events of Pososhkov's career may be found in Kafengauz, B. B., I. T. Pososhkov: zhizn i dejatet'nost (Moscow, 1951)Google Scholar.

3 This is a literal translation of the opening line, which constitutes the title of the work.

4 Pososhkov, Ivan T., KniKniga o skudosti i bogatstve i drugie sochinenija, Kafengauz, B. B.,ed. (Moscow, 1951), p. 113 Google Scholar.

5 Brückner, Aleksandr G., Kupfergeldkrisen, Finanzgeschichtliche Studien (Dorpat, 1867), p. 146 Google Scholar.

6 Pososhkov, , op. cit., pp. 114-17Google Scholar.

7 Pososhkov even proposed a method of making class distinction more apparent. Each rank, he suggested, should adopt its own style of dress. A man's 's status would thus be indicated by his clothing. This would serve not only as a convenience in observing the social amenities, but would enable the state to collect taxes from the individual more readily on the basis of his clothing. The parallelism between this suggestion and the later concept of the function of dress as an evidence of ability to pay is of interest.

8 Pososhkov, , op. cit., p. 124 Google Scholar.

9 Ibid., p. 138.

10 Pogodin, Mikhail P., “Krest'janin Ivan Pososhkov,” Istoriko-kriticheskie otryvki (Moscow, 1846), pp. 400, 415 Google Scholar.

11 Melon, Jean F., A Political Essay upon Commerce (Dublin, 1738), pp. 97-98, 350-51Google Scholar: “… it is neither the Monarchical nor the Republican form of Government that supporteth trading Companies. It is the solid Foundation upon which they are settled.… A corrupt Management, the personal Interest of Directors, the Events, the Ignorance or the Injustice of Superiors, all these are incident to all Kinds of Government, because they are incident to human Nature.”

12 Pogodin, , op. cit, p. 411 Google Scholar: see also Groves, Harold M., ed., Viewpoints on Public points on Public Finance (New York, 1947), pp. 28–29 Google Scholar: “ … that revenue source is best which interferes least with the private production of wealth … a judicious selection and application of taxes can be very important in supporting production.” This is a viewpoint with which Pososhkov would have concurred.

13 A few mercantilists such as Bernard Mandeville in his Fable of the Bees praised the virtues of spending, but the majority gave no support to the idea.

14 Pososhkov, , op. cit., p. 276 Google Scholar.

15 Pogodin, , op. cit., p. 413 Google Scholar.

16 Hazard, Paul, The European Mind: The Critical Years (1680-1715;) (New Haven, 1953). P. xviii Google Scholar.

17 Pogodin, , op. cit., pp. 369-70Google Scholar.

18 Brückner, Aleksandr G., Geschichte Russlands bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts (Gotha, 1913), II, 363 Google Scholar.