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Tadeusz Brzeski

Tadeusz Brzeski (1884–1958) was a Polish economist and academic teacher. He studied law at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, as well as economics at universities in Munich and Berlin. In 1922, he became a professor at the University of Warsaw, where in the late 1920s and early 1930s he served as rector for one academic year. After the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Lviv, from where the Soviet authorities deported him to Kazakhstan. He was released in 1941. He managed to get out of Russia with General Władysław Anders’ army heading for the Middle East. Still during the war, he moved to London, where he lived for the rest of his life. He actively participated in emigré life, holding many important posts. He took the office of the rector of the Polish University Abroad, as well as the position of the president of the Polish Scientific Society in Exile.

Tadeusz Brzeski focused on theoretical issues in his work. He put a lot of effort into the analysis of concepts related to the methodology of economics. He created a complex classification of economic phenomena and facts of social policy, in which he included: economic values, measures and forms.

The scholar placed great emphasis on the psychological aspect of economic life. Brzeski put forward the view that management theory should take into account the motives for the conduct of individuals and communities, which he elaborated in detail in one of his most important works – Psychologiczna teoria gospodarcza w zarysie [Psychological Economic Theory in Outline]. He defended the thesis that economic life is a combination of natural and psychological facts, thus trying to reconcile the arguments of the historical school with deductive thinking.

Other major works by Brzeski include: O granicach ekonomii społecznej [On the Limits of Social Economy], Ekonomia. Teoria gospodarowania, Ustrój pieniężny. Teoria [Economics. Management Theory, Monetary System. Theory], Polska jako jednostka gospodarcza [Poland as an Economic Unit].

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