"To employ each of nature's products in the most favorable way possible": nature as a commodity in eighteenth-century German economic discourse

Abstract

In German territories in the eighteenth century a large number of texts propagated an intensified exploitation of natural resources. This discourse comprised programma tic statements as well as seemingly neutral descriptions of corresponding technological processes. For a broad range of addressees, the exploitation of natural resources was thus le gitimized as desirable for the well-being (Gl?ckseligkeit) of the individual and the state. The contribution explains the emergence of this discourse by factors ranging from con temporary economic thought over the establishment of eco nomic societies to the dissemination of new media like the rapidly spreading journal culture. In summarizing it is ar gued that if man, as has often been argued, in its actions has always been taking on a utilitarian attitude towards nature, it is in the eighteenth century that this attitude was first broadly disseminated in written discourse a development that, obviously, can not be labeled an anthropological con stant and thus deserves further investigation by environ mental historians. Address all communications to: Torsten Meyer and Marcus Popplow, Lehrstuhl f?r Tech nikgeschichte, Universit?tsplatz 3-4, D-03044 Cottbus. E-Mail: meyert@tu-cottbus.de, popplow@tu-cottbus.de. We are grateful to G?nter Bayerl, Cottbus, and Reinhold Reith, Salzburg, for comments and criticism. This essay is part of a project On the 'commodification' of nature in the 18th century a turning point in the history of the environment? funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the auspices of the chair for the history of technol ogy, at the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus under the direction of G?nter Bayerl, research assistant Marcus Popplow. All translations of the sources, in the following, are ours. Our special thanks go to Ann Hentschel, Bern, for the diligent revision of an earlier version of this paper.