The Evolution of the Concept Verbesserung and the Anonymous German Discourse of Improvement1

Abstract

The point of departure of the present chapter is an assumption that in early modern Germany as well ideas of improvement developed in advancing administration, economy, society, technology, and agriculture. The German equivalent for “improvement” was “Verbesserung”, which was increasingly used from the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. The chapter will look in particular at tracts that were published anonymously. Writing improvement proposals anonymously was a widespread phenomenon in early modern German literature. Improvers were a relatively large group of people, comprising both academics and journalists, but also ordinary practitioners and amateurs. German cameralists among others were oriented to change and improvement. Taking account of this extensive promotion of improvement in oeconomy, agriculture, industry, trade, administration, domestic finance, public health, and technology, there is ample reason to speak in terms of a general search for improving solutions in the German territories at least from the end of the seventeenth century.