National system of political economy

Can economic theory help poor countries build strong economies? Friedrich List believes that it must do so, otherwise the theory makes no sense.

In the book “National System of Political Economy”, the author examined almost a thousand-year period of Western civilization: from the triumphs of Venice, Genoa and Florence to the world power of the British Empire and the first steps of the United States, which challenged the British. List proves that strong countries implemented similar economic policies that can be repeated and scaled up. As a German patriot, he proposes in the book a plan of action for the economic revival of Germany, and as a statesman, he initiates the creation of the German Trade and Industrial Union. Friedrich List is the first in the history of economic science to consider economic development from the point of view of the interests of the nation and the state. The author studies the state policy of the largest countries of Europe and the United States, analyzes the laws and trade agreements of the British Empire. And it shows that there is a great contradiction between the dominant theory of Adam Smith, which sees only individuals and firms, and real life, where there are states with their own national interests, treasury, and productive forces.

List's book became a staple in Germany during the time of Otto von Bismarck. The architect of Japanese economic reforms, Hirata Tosuke, translated it into Japanese in the 1890s, and South Korean reformers were already reading List in the 1970s.

Whether Ukraine will become a strong state or remain a raw material appendage with a huge state debt and external management depends on whether the Ukrainian elite reads Friedrich List.