'Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb'
Abstract
Ksenofont je prvi grčki filozof koji jasno odvaja ekonomski fenomen od morala, prava i politike i definira ga sa stajališta efikasnosti, oskudnosti i blagostanja. Te značajke Ksenofontova pristupa osobito dolaze do izražaja u Načinima i sredstvima. U tom ogledu on daje cjelovitu raspravu o mogućem povećanju prihoda atenske države i razmatra samo ona pitanja koja su u svezi s oživljavanjem gospodarske aktivnosti kao izvora prihoda za državu i njezinu sigurnost. Radi se zato više o razvojnoj studiji, o strategiji gospodarskog razvoja, ocjeni gospodarske moći i načinu njezina povećanja, što je prva takva poznata rasprava u povijesti. Iako je rasprava pisana s namjerom da pruži praktičnu uputu za razvojnu politiku, ona ipak nije koncipirana kao skup prijedloga konkretnih mjera, nego kao integrirani razvojni plan čiju konzistentnost osigurava teorijsko razumijevanje gospodarskih procesa i realan uvid u cjelinu unutrašnje strukture i vanjskih odnosa konkretne države (Atene) prema svom okruženju. Dominantni kriterij ocjene je gospodarska efikasnost i blagostanje građana, dakle uži gospodarski kriterij, kojem mora biti podvrgnuta razvojna politika države.Xenophon was the first Greek philosopher to clearly separate the economic phenomenon from morality, law and politics, defining it from the standpoint of efficiency, deprivation and welfare. These traits of Xenophon’s approach are particularly pronounced in Ways and Means. In this essay he presents an integral discussion of possibilities to increase income of the state of Athens, focusing only on issues pertaining to the boosting of economic activity as source of the state’s income and the source of its security. Thus it is rather a development study, a strategy of economic growth, an evaluation of economic power and of ways of increasing it, and, to the extent of our knowledge, it is the first such treatise in history. Although its intent is to provide practical instruction on development policy, it is not conceived as a set of suggestions regarding actual steps to be taken, but as an integrated plan of development, the consistency of which is ensured by theoretical understanding of economic processes and by sober insight into the entire internal structure and external relations of a particular state (Athens) with its surroundings. The predominant evaluation criterion is economic efficiency and citizens’ welfare, i.e. the narrower economic criterion, by which a state’s development policy is to be judged
