'Lujo Brentano' (
18 December 1844–
9 September 1931) was an eminent
German economist and social reformer.
Lujo Brentano, born in
Aschaffenburg into one of the most distinguished German-Catholic intellectual families (originally of
Italian descent), attended
school in
Augsburg and
Aschaffenburg. He studied in
Dublin (
Trinity College),
Münster,
Munich,
Heidelberg (doctorate in law),
Würzburg,
Göttingen (doctorate in economics), and Berlin (
habilitation in economics,
1871). He was a professor of
economics and state sciences at the
universities of
Breslau,
Strasbourg,
Vienna,
Leipzig, and most importantly, Munich (
1891–
1914). After the revolution of November
1918, he served in prime minister
Kurt Eisner's government as People's Commissar (Minister) for Trade, but only for some days in December
1918.
In
1914, he signed the
Manifesto of the Ninety-Three.
Brentano died in Munich in
1931.
Brentano was a ''Kathedersozialist'' (reform-minded) and a founding member of the
Verein für Socialpolitik. His influence on the
social market economy, and on many Germans who would be leaders just after the end of
World War II, can hardly be overrated.
Note: The mistake is often made to say that Brentano was called Ludwig Joseph, and that "Lujo" was a kind of nickname or contraction. This is incorrect; while he was given his name after a
Ludwig and a
Joseph, Lujo was his real and legal
first name. (See his autobiography, ''Mein Leben...'', below, p. 18.)
Bibliography:
★ Brentano, Lujo (1871-72). ''Die Arbeitergilden der Gegenwart.'' 2 vols., Leipzig: Duncker und Humblot. (English: ''On the History and Development of Gilds and the Origins of Trade Unions.'' 1870.)
★ Brentano, Lujo (1901). ''Ethik und Volkswirtschaft in der Geschichte. November 1901.'' München: Wolf.
★ Brentano, Lujo (1910). "The Doctrine of Malthus and the Increase of Population During the Last Decades." ''Economic Journal'' vol. 20(79), pp. 371-93
★ Brentano, Lujo (1923). ''Der wirtschaftende Mensch in der Geschichte.'' Leipzig: Meiner.
★ Brentano, Lujo (1927-29). ''Eine Geschichte der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung Englands.'' 4 vols., Jena: Gustav Fischer.
★ Brentano, Lujo (1929). ''Das Wirtschaftsleben der antiken Welt.'' Jena: Fischer.
★ Brentano, Lujo (1931). ''Mein Leben im Kampf um die soziale Entwicklung Deutschlands.'' Jena: Diederichs.
See also
★
Liberalism
★
Contributions to liberal theory