Karel Engliš

Karel Engliš (1931)

Karel Engliš (born August 17, 1880 in Hrabyně ; † June 15, 1961 there ) was a Czech economist , political scientist and founder of teleological economic theory .

Engliš was the first rector of Masaryk University in Brno and from 1947 to 1948 rector of Charles University in Prague. Together with Alois Rašín, as Minister of Finance, he played a key role in the Czechoslovak currency reform after the First World War . From 1934 to 1938 he was governor of the Czechoslovak National Bank .

Life

The ninth child of a village butcher grew up in modest circumstances. He attended high school in Troppau and then studied at the law faculty of Charles University in Prague . After graduating, he became a civil servant in the State Statistical Office in Prague and in the Statistics Office at the Ministry of Commerce in Vienna . In 1910 he qualified as lecturer in economics at the Czech Technical University in Brno , in 1911 he became associate professor and in 1917 full professor.

After the end of the First World War, he was one of the co-founders of Masaryk University in Brno and also its first rector. He loved nature and music, was an admirer of good wine and Moravian cuisine.

The coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948 marked a turning point in his life. Engliš had to renounce his office as rector, in 1952 he was expelled from Prague, his works were banned from the libraries and his pension was withdrawn. Even after these difficult years, he wrote other, less well-known works. In the early 1960s he gave several lectures.

In 1990 the Karel Engliš Society was established in Prague . In 1994, under the auspices of the Masaryk University, the Karel Engliš Prize was founded, which is awarded every year to an outstanding economist. On July 1, 2001, the private Karel Engliš University in Brno began teaching.

Political activity

The scientist and educator was also actively involved in politics. He was a member of the Moravian People's and Progress Party , after the proclamation of Czechoslovakia the National Democratic Party . In 1918 Engliš was elected to the National Committee in Prague and was a member of the National Assembly. 1920–1925 he was elected twice as MPs. In 1925 he resigned from the National Democratic Party and gave up his mandate. Engliš became a member of the government and from 1920–1921, 1925–1928, 1929–1930 Minister of Finance . He consistently advocated a policy of stabilizing the Czech currency and represented the interests of industry and trade. With his views he got into a violent dispute with Alois Rašín , an author of a contrary draft of currency separation and currency reform.

Scientific activity

Engliš is considered to be the founder of the teleological economic method . At that time he showed a new direction in economics with her. At the university he was one of the popular professors, but was feared as an examiner. He insisted on problem identification and their systematization. He became one of the most important economic theorists in the interwar period.

Works

Engliš was the author of more than 200 scientific papers. His most important were Money (Peníze), Teleology as a form of scientific knowledge (Teleologie jako forma vědeckého poznání) and his main work Basic System of Economics (Soustava národního hospodářství).

German-language publications

• The Doctrine of the Order of Thought, 1961
• The problem of logic , 1960
• German socialism as a program of the Sudeten German party , 1938
• Regulated Economy, 1936
• Teleological theory of the state economy, 1933
• Anticipation of company expenses in the construction of non-material goods, 1933
• Public Finance, 1931
• The tax reform d. J. 1927 / Suppl. 1. The motive reports u. Reports d. Budget Committee d. House of Representatives and texts d. Law v. Nov. 27, 1930
• Establishment of teleology as a form of empirical knowledge, 1930
• The tax reform d. J. 1927 / Bd. 1. The motive report on the government bill ud report d. Budget Committee d. House of Representatives on Laws Regarding Direct Taxes, 1927
• Time issues, 1927
• Handbook of Economics , 1927
• Foundations of Economic Thought, 1925
• The Tax on Goods and Labor and the Luxury Tax, 1919
• The Legal Relationship Between Divorced Parents and Their Children, 1918
• Teleological theory of the economy,

Web links

• Literature by and about Karel Engliš in the catalog of the German National Library
• Newspaper article about Karel Engliš in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .