‎(SCHMID D'AVENSTEIN, G.L.)‎
‎Principes de la Législation universelle. Tome Premier [- Tome Second].‎

‎A Amsterdam, Chez Marc-Michel Rey, 1776. 2 volumes. xx, 389, (3) pp.; (4), 474, (2) pp. 8vo. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt with red labels and gilt lettering, red edges. INED 4116; Einaudi A.867; not in Kress; not in Goldsmiths; Leblanc 113; Mattioli 3269. First edition of this very interesting expostion dealing with the laws of society, the relation between men, man and society, natural and positive law, the role of economics, demography, luxury, property, religion, individual liberty, liberty of the press, free speech, etc. etc. and how society should be organized, governed and managed, this is both a work of sociology, economics, politics and legislation seeking the well-being and happiness of societies and population through proper and rational legislation and organization. 'Économie politique. Doctrine plus agrarienne que populationniste, très proche de celle des physiocrates' (INED, giving a long and extensive analysis of the work). There are sections discussing population (Schmid advocates a continuous increase), family life, property (he defends private ownership of land), luxury, religious toleration, (Schmid is in favour), taxation (Schmid favours direct over indirect taxation), commerce (he advocates, among other things, free trade for the colonies and an autonomous government) and war. One of the best expositions of the body of economic thought of the time.Further sections deal with: De l'Autorité souveraine; Des Forces de la Société; Des Rapports d'une Société avec les autres Sociétés; Du bonheur de la Société; Des Loix positives. George-Louis Schmid (or Schmidt), born in Avenstein in 1720, entered the service of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar and retired in 1757 to Nyon in the Vaud. He had close relations with Voltaire, Diderot and d'Alembert and the other leading philosophes of the 18th century. He belonged, together with authors such as Rillet de Saussure, Delolme and Iselin to a group of important Swiss authors actively participating in the European debates of those days and historians now believe that Swiss authors like these were unique in their attempts to reconcile traditional republican and Christian standards of social justice with the imperatives of economic growth. For this reason, they came to occupy a central position in European debates and the essay competitions of the Economic Society of Bern were closely watched elsewhere in Europe. - Some occasional browning. An excellent copy of a scarce work. ‎

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