Philipp Wilhelm von Hornick, 1638-1712.

Austrian Cameralist, Philip Wilhelm von Hornick (or Hörnigk or Horneck) studied law at Ingolstadt, receiving his degree in 1661 and setting himself up as a lawyer and civil servant in Vienna.  He was the brother in law of the influential Cameralist theorist, J.J. Becher.

A German nationalist,  Hornick was roused to indignation by Louis XIV of France's "chambers of reunions" policy, aggressively laying claims to German border territories.  Hornick's first pamphlet (1682) argued for the consolidation of the German states to raise a single army to resist the French encroachments.

In 1684, Hornick published his principle Cameralist work, Austria above all, where he famously articulated his 'nine principal rules' of national economy, roughly:

(1) utilize all the soil of a country;
(2) utilize raw materials to build up manufacturing within a country;
(3) encourage a large population
(4) prohibit the export of gold and silver;
(5) discourage importation of foreign consumer goods;
(6) that if you must import, match that with exports rather than cash.
(7) import only raw materials to be finished at home.
(8) try to export as much as possible, in return for gold and silver.
(9) prohibit importation of any good available domestically.

Hornick's nine principles serve as a neat summary of the 17th C. Mercantilism.  Hornick's pamphlet gained wide circulation and was reprinted numerous times.

Hornick served on occasional embassies, and, from 1690, was appointed Privy Counselor to the Prince-Bishop of Passau.

Top

Top

Top

All rights reserved, Gonçalo L. Fonseca