Jakob Mauvillon

Who was Jakob Mauvillon?

Jakob Mauvillon, son of Eleazar Mauvillon, was an 18th-century figure in German liberalism. He was of French Huguenot descent. He was a professor of politics at Brunswick. He advocated a radical laissez-faire philosophy, which included proposals for the privatisation of all the schools and the postal system, to be funded privately rather than by taxes. He speculated that the security functions of the state might also be voluntarily funded.

Besides advocating laissez-faire in economic matters he also "expresses a radical libertarianism that centers on freedom of the press and expression" as revealed in a letter to the librarian of the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, Ernst Theodor Langer. He said he thinks that "the real barbarians are those who put obstacles in the way of press freedom, and hinder research in theology, philosophy and politics; in short, those who issue decrees about censorship, edicts about religion and who forbid people to read or to think."

Mauvillon was a mentor to the French liberal Benjamin Constant.