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Stanisław Lewiński
Jan Stanisław Lewiński (1885-1930) was an
economist and university lecturer. He left
Poland as a child. He studied in Antwerp,
London, Berlin and Brussels. During World
War I, he worked at one of the institutes at
the Cologne University. In the times of the
Second Polish Republic, he was a lecturer
at the Catholic University of Lublin and the
Higher School of Commerce (later: SGH
Warsaw School of Economics). He published
not only in his native language, but also in
German and English. He died in a tragic
accident in Vilnius.
Lewiński’s scientific interests were very
broad. His works focused on theoretical
issues, economic history and the history
of economic thought. In this field, he
appreciated the most the achievements of
the physiocrats and classical economics.
The author of Zasady ekonomii politycznej
[Principles of Political Economy] tried
to integrate the concepts of different
economic schools. He indicated the need to
take into account both theoretical factors
and empirical aspects in the analysis of
individual economic issues. For this reason,
he perceived the dispute between the historical school and the classical school as
barren. He assumed that all a priori assumptions
must be confronted with the observation of
reality, since a one-sided view would constitute
a serious methodological error.
Lewiński considered economics as a science
expressing the principle of economy, where
certain fixed and unchangeable principles exist
– as in the natural sciences. The accomplishment
of the main social objective depends on the
distribution and exchange of wealth obtained
through the process of efficient production.
Lewiński’s most significant works include the
following books: L’evolution industrielle de la Belgique [The Industrial Evolution of
Belgium], Pieniądz, kredyt i ceny [Money,
Credit and Prices], Twórcy ekonomii
politycznej [The Founders of Political
Economy] and Zasady ekonomii politycznej.
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