The Political Economy of J.H.G. Justi

Citation

Jackson, M. (2009), "The Political Economy of J.H.G. Justi", Journal of Management History, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 96-98. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511340910921826

One of the roots of modern public administration is cameralism, a forerunner to Max Weber in German political practice and thought. Though Weber's role is widely and frequently acknowledged, the impression is too often left that systematic thought and action about state bureaucracy only begins with Weber. For those who wish to go beyond that convention, Ulrich Adam has done us all a great service by providing in English an authoritative account of the life and work of one of the most important thinkers in bureaucratic theory and practice, J.H.G. Justi (1711‐1771).

Most the scant literature on Justi, in particular, and cameralism, more generally, has been in German, and Adam offers a masterful survey of it, while drawing distinctions and arguing points of interpretation with several contributors to the literature. At the same time, he offers his own study of Justi's many primary works and documents taken from Justi's professional and private life.

Justi was particularly keen to see state centralization used to enhance German standing in Europe. In part, he was animated by a desire to see the new technologies of the age used systematically. However, he saw the state as providing the framework in which these developments may occur, leaving the developments to be made in the market place by entrepreneurs. The state provides the material and social infrastructure for these entrepreneurs. In this way, he departs from the cameralist orthodoxy of state action or inaction. The emphasis on free trade between states and the free market within the state, make Justi seem almost contemporary.

Throughout his career, Justi also argued against military solutions to political problems. Armies and wars are never productive, he agued time and again in publications and in private memoranda. Far more productive would be a system of standard weights and measures to enable all of Europe to engage in trade. He did not dare dream of the single currency that the Euro is today. Yet, at the same time he saw no value in pursuing dreamy speculation on a world state. National governments had to be tamed to work for the greater good here and now. He thus made enemies among both generals and dreamers.

Adam shows conclusively how important Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws was in German‐speaking Europe, and the considerable lengths that Jesuits, among others, went to suppress it. Yet, today the book is easily found and those who tried to suppress it are all but forgotten. Justi took much of his inspiration for limited government from this book, but he dissented from many of Montesquieu's conclusions. Equally stimulating, for many in central Europe at the time, were stories of Chinese Government. These were based far more on idealization than fact in their portrayal of the rule of philosopher‐monarchs. This is an episode in European intellectual history that would repay further study.

Justi argued, and had occasion to put into practice in his several administrative capacities, that government be organized by functions and not by territory. A permanent body of paid officials who are trained for the service should staff the government. Work was to be organized into departments, within each of which there should be a division of labor. Appointment to and promotion in government service be made on the basis of clear cut criteria of merit and achievement. Recruitment of members of the service should be from university graduates via public examinations. The performance of state officials should be reviewed every three years and that those not worthy of promotion should be terminated. None of these propositions were current in the France and England of his day. Each is a building block of civil service in Western societies, albeit honoured in the breach at times.

The book shows how Justi's proposed practices arose in the context of the German states of his experience, but it also shows how they transcend that context. The book includes a systematic overview and a chronological list of his written work. Moreover, it includes a comparison of identical passages in Justi's work since he was an author well acquainted with cutting and pasting from his previous works. All quotations from Justi's work in the text are translated into English with the German originals in an appendix. In addition, there is an extensive bibliography and an index.

Readers of this journal interested in the development of public administration will find much in this book. Those with special interest in the German world will want to annotate a personal copy.