Everything about Anders Chydenius totally explained
Anders Chydenius (
26 February 1729 -
1 February 1803) was the leading
classical liberal of
Nordic history. Born in
Sotkamo (modern day Finland) and having studied under
Pehr Kalm at
the Royal Academy of Turku (Åbo),
Finland (part of
Sweden until 1809) Chydenius became a priest,
Enlightenment philosopher and member of the Swedish
Riksdag of the Estates.
Biography
Early life
Anders Chydenius was born in 1729 at
Sotkamo where his father Jacob was a
chaplain. The family moved to
Kuusamo in 1734 where his father became a rector. Anders' childhood was spent in the barren area of northern
Finland. He and his brother Samuel were taught privately by their father and then they went to
Oulu grammar school. After the
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), the boys studied privately in
Torneå and entered
Åbo Academy in 1745. They also studied at
Uppsala University in
Sweden. Anders studied
mathematics,
natural sciences,
Latin and
philosophy. In 1746 the father Jacob and family moved to
Gamlakarleby.
Nedervetil
In 1753, after graduation, Anders was appointed preacher of the Chapel of the dependent parish of Nedervetil (today, part of
Kronoby) in
Ostrobothnia. He was married in 1755 to Beata Magdalena Mellberg, daughter of a merchant from
Jakobstad. The couple was childless.
While in Nedervetil he was active in many projects such as the clearing of the marshes, experimenting with new breeds of animals and plants, and adopting new methods of cultivation of
potatoes and
tobacco. His aim was to enlighten the peasants by example. Chydenius practiced
medicine and became known by inoculating ordinary people against
smallpox. He also performed
cataract operations and prepared medicines. In the book Chydenius published theories closely corresponding to
Adam Smith's
invisible hand, eleven years before Smith published his book,
The Wealth of Nations.
Chydenius also put his theories into practice by proposing to the
Riksdag of the Estates a drastic trade liberalization of towns along the
Gulf of Bothnia. However, most of his other propositions were not realized, such as turning
Lapland to a
nightwatchman state to make the poor province prosper economically:
" — free state, private ownership and individual freedom. Inhabitants could choose whatever profession, freedom of trade would be complete, there would be no privileges, regulation or taxes. Bureaucracy would be nonexistent, and the only officer would be a judge who would oversee that no-one's rights would be suppressed."
Freedom of information
Inspired by
Emperor Taizong of Tang, Chydenius became a great proponent of
freedom of the press. In a report published in 1776, he wrote:
"No evidence should be needed that a certain freedom of writing and printing is one of the strongest bulwarks of a free organisation of the state, as without it, the estates wouldn't have sufficient information for the drafting of good laws, and those dispensing justice wouldn't be monitored, nor would the subjects know the requirements of the law, the limits of the rights of government, and their own responsibilities. Education and good conduct would be crushed; coarseness in thought, speech, and manners would prevail, and dimness would darken the entire sky of our freedom in a few years."
Natural equality
Chydenius was very outspoken about universal rights and the abolition of privilege. He wanted to give the poor the same freedom as for everybody else and argued for the good of the poor, which was then rather exceptional among politicians. He promoted democracy and defended the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of trade and industry, and the workers rights. He called for an oversight of the way the state funds were spent. In modern language we'd say he advocated openness and good governance.
In a 1778 essay,
Thoughts Upon the Natural Rights of Servants and Peasants, he wrote:
Anders Chydenius is remembered as a man ahead of his time, expressing ideas that were radical in his day, but are now the backbone of the Nordic ideology.
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