Outlines of American Political Economy

Outlines of American Political Economy

A good system of protection does not imply any monopoly in the manufacturers of a country; it only furnishes a guarantee against losses to those who devote their capital, their talents, and their exertions to new branches of industry. In 1825, Friedrich List emigrated to the United States and was heavily influenced by American protectionist policies at the time. Convinced of the correctness of American protectionist policies when America was in the midst of a debate over free trade, he wrote a series of letters justifying these policies. These letters were later published under the title Outlines of American Political Economy and served as a precursor to his magnum opus The National System of Political Economy . Friedrich List was a German economist who popularised the idea of using tariffs and protectionist policies to develop a nation’s domestic industries. He was also a politician actively involved in the establishment of the Zollverein , the German Customs Union that paved the way for the unification of Germany. "List was fitted as few have been to read in the book of the world. He went through life with his eyes open for all political and economic phenomena, and each impulse he received he passed on to others. His intercourse with statesmen, scholars, merchants, and manufacturers of all nations gave breadth, depth, and diversity to his knowledge, and continuously influenced by and active in the daily affairs of life, he grew to be a great economist, a far-sighted politician, a most effective and brilliant writer."—Karl Theodor Eheberg