Silvio Gesell
| Silvio Gesell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born |
March 17, 1862 Sankt Vith, Prussia (present-day Belgium) |
| Died | March 11, 1930 (aged 67) Oranienburg |
| Nationality | German Empire |
| Field | Monetary theory |
| School or tradition |
Freiwirtschaft |
| Influences |
Theodor Hertzka Henry George Pierre Joseph Proudhon |
| Influenced |
John Maynard Keynes Bernard Lietaer |
| Contributions | ?? |
Silvio Gesell (German: [ɡəˈzɛl]; March 17, 1862 – March 11, 1930) was a German merchant, theoretical economist, social activist, Georgist, anarchist/libertarian socialist and founder of Freiwirtschaft. In 1900 he initiated the magazine Geld-und Bodenreform (Monetary and Land Reform) but it soon closed for financial reasons. During one of his stays in Argentina where he lived in a vegetarian commune, Gesell initiated the magazine Der Physiokrat together with Georg Blumenthal. In 1914, he had to close it because of censorship.
The Bavarian Soviet Republic, in which he participated, had a violent end and Gesell was detained for several months on a charge of treason, but was acquitted by a Munich court after a speech he gave in his own defence.
Gesell promoted his ideas in both German and in Spanish.
Silvio Gesell's mother was Walloon and his father was German, originally from Aachen, and worked a clerk in the then-Prussian district of Malmedy, now part of Belgium. Silvio was the seventh of nine children.
After visiting the public Bürgerschule in Sankt Vith, he attended Gymnasium in Malmedy. Being forced to pay for his living expenses from an early age, he decided against attending a university and received work for the Deutsche Reichspost, the postal system of the German Empire. He did not like this profession, so he decided to start an apprenticeship to his merchant brother in Berlin. Then he lived in Málaga, Spain for two years, working as a correspondent. He then returned to Berlin involuntarily to complete his military service. After this, he worked as a merchant in Brunswick and Hamburg.
...
Wikipedia