Pufendorf teaser

The Samuelson Pufendorf Society for Political Economy (SPSPE)

The objective of the Samuel Pufendorf Society for Political Economy is to engage on welfare oriented economic and financial policies in the public domain and to convey progressive economic concepts grounded in academic research to the wider public. Our activities are based on the conviction that political sovereignty and monetary constitution are inextricably linked. We act as an interface between academia on the one hand and political agents, senior civil service, business, consultants, media and the wider public on the other.

The Pufendorf Society’s work follows from a macroeconomic approach which is based on a scientific concept of money. This is supported by an in-­‐depth analysis of the monetary circuit, with a focus on balance sheet transactions in the banking sector as well as in the wider financial system. We believe that the suitability of economic and financial policies to achieve the public purpose are best determined by their ability to adequately employ the productive capacity of an economy.

Who was Samuel Pufendorf?

Samuel Pufendorf was an important pre-­‐enlightenment thinker who in the 17th century articulated the idea of a positive role for ‘the state’, integrating a range of anthropological, sociological, ethnic, legal and economic aspects, which was very progressive for its time.

The core of Pufendorf’s insight is that man is entitled to certain rights by birth. These rights constitute a claim of each individual to freedom from abuse and to freedom to shape one’s own destiny. Since man cannot reach these goals without joining forces with others, he establishes a partnership of convenience, the government.1) The state thus serves to sustain peace and support the mutual assistance of its people [..].2) Hence, the choice of form of government and constitution as well as the extent and manner of use of nature as well as the distribution of production amongst its members is at the free disposition of the people. 3)

Based on these thoughts the Pufendorf Society stands for an approach to economic policy which puts the public purpose into focus. We believe that ‘public purpose’ is achieved by creating the largest possible opportunity given available resources to exercise and improve upon personal skills by increasing capacity utilisation and through the establishment of a secure and stable economic framework for the population at large. In this regard, the government has a crucial part to play given that it has the power of creating and supporting the monetary system. Current levels of underemployment, income inequality, poverty among the elderly and the neglect of public goods and services are a clear signs of the government’s failure to achieve the public purpose.

We believe that there is a crucial connection between political sovereignty and the monetary system: -

the monetary system determines the space to define economic and public policy;

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the extent of policy space in turn drives a broader civic participation in democratic society.

Recent developments have led to a successive reduction of the government’s policy space, incl. balanced budget amendments to the German constitution, extensive privatization of infrastructure and public service institutions, and the current structure of the Euro system.

We believe that the ramifications of a defective monetary system reach beyond purely economic matters and have important strategic implications for climate change, human rights and world peace. The Pufendorf Society believes that the current intellectual and political climate in Germany and the Eurozone is dominated by erroneous concepts of ‘public purpose’ in which real economic factors such as employment, state of education or infrastructure have been displaced by financial benchmarks such as “debt-­‐to-­‐GDP” or “deficit-­‐to-­‐GDP” ratios.

Therefore, the Pufendorf Society’s is seeking to expand the public debate to include broader measures of economic success.

Pufendorf quotations:

(1) The next Enquiry we are to make, is upon what Bottom Civil Societies have been erected, and wherein their Internal Constitution does consist. Where, in the first Place, this is manifest, That neither any Place, nor any Sort of Weapons, nor any Kind of brute Creatures can be capable of affording any sufficient and safe Guard or Defence against the Injuries to which all Men are liable, by reason of the Pravity of Mankind: From such Dangers, Men alone can afford an agreeable Remedy by joining their Forces together, by interweaving their Interests and Safety, and by forming a general Confederacy for their mutual Succour; that therefore this End might be obtain’d effectually, it was necessary that those who sought to bring it about, should be firmly joined together and associated into Communities.

(http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=888&layout=html#chapter_66115)

(2) [“to have something established whereby it might commonly be rendered more preferable for men to one another their due offices, than by injuries to contract for mutual hurt, as it were. (..)“that men should

band together for the sake of bearing mutual aid to one another” [Elementorum Jurisprudentiae Universalis II. V. 1]

(3) „It is true that God allowed men to turn the earth, its products, and its creatures, to his own use and convenience, that is, He gave men indefinite right to them, yet the manner, intensity, and extent of this power were left to the judgment and disposition of men; whether, in other words, they would confine it within certain limits, or within none at all, and whether they wanted every man to have a right to everything, or only to a certain and fixed part of things, or to be assigned his definite portion with which he should rest content and claim no right to anything else.“

(http://tinyurl.com/ntjbjev)

(4) "And because the Concerns of any Civil Society can, neither in Time of War nor Peace, be managed without Expences, the supreme Authority has Power to compel the Subjects to provide the same." (http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=888&layout=html#chapter_66113)