Staatschuld, Verfassung und Revolutionsprävention: Friedrich Buchholz und der Beginn der Sozialwissenschaft

• Main Author: Axel Rüdiger
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Universität Freiburg 2011-09-01
• Series: Behemoth : a Journal on Civilisation
• Subjects: Friedrich Buchholz; Sozialwissenschaft; Staatskredit; Revolution; Souveränität; Verfassung
• Online Access: http://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle.fullcontentlink:pdfeventlink/contentUri?format=INT&t:ac=j$002fbehemoth.2011.4.issue-2$002fbehemoth.2011.016$002fbehemoth.2011.016.xml

From within the environment of the Prussian reforms at the beginning of the 19th century, FriedrichBuchholz developed the social-scientific concept of Zukunftspolitik, which deals with the constitutionalsafeguard of public credit and the prevention of destructive revolution through targetedpolitical reforms. In contrast to political romanticism (Adam Müller and others), Buchholz orientshimself not toward the English system of representation, but toward the French model, to combinerevolutionary popular sovereignty with representative government. Using the example of Englishpublic debt in the 18th century, he develops the political dialectic of materialist necessity and arbitrarycontingency. Whereas sovereignty without representation in the maintenance of public creditinevitably leads to Jacobin Terror, parliamentarian representation without sovereignty leads to, inthe English model, a general state of war. Europe’s future, according to Buchholz, thus depends onthe reform of English Parliamentarianism.