Anders Chydenius
From Freepedia
Anders Chydenius (26 February 1729 – 1 February 1803) was the leading classical liberal of Nordic history. A Finnish priest and a member of parliament, he published a book called The National Gain in 1765, in which he proposes ideas of free trade and industry and explores the relationship between economy and society and lays out the principles for liberalism. In the book Chydenius published his theories closely corresponding to Adam Smith's invisible hand, eleven years before Smith published his book, The Wealth of Nations.
Anders Chydenius also put his theories into practice by going to the Swedish-Finnish government and proposing trade liberalization of towns along the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as turning Lapland to a nightwatchman state. He can be seen as a major influence on Nordic thinkers as well as real-life politics, strictly promoting globalization.
Chydenius was also very outspoken about universal rights and the abolition of privilege. He wanted to promote democracy; he called for oversight of the way state funds were spent; in modern language we would say he advocated openness and good governance. He is remembered as a man ahead of his time, expressing ideas that were radical in his day, but are now the backbone of the Nordic ideology.
An English language translation for the most famous book by Anders Chydenius, The National Gain, can be found on the Chydenius Foundation web site: The National Gain
Another famous Finnish scientist, Pietari Pehr Kalm, was a teacher of Anders Chydenius.
See also
External links
- Chydenius Foundation Image:Symbole-en.png
- Chydenius Foundation Image:Symbole-fi.png
- Chydenius Foundation Image:Symbole-sv.png
Categories: 1729 births | 1803 deaths | 18th century births | 19th century deaths | Finnish politicians | Finnish scientists | Finnish people | Finnish philosophers | Priests | Finland-Swedes | Members of the Riksdag
