Giuseppe Palmieri (economist)


Giuseppe Palmieri was an Italian economist and politician of the 18th century.

Biography

Born in Martignano in Salento, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, he was member of a noble family. His father was Carlo Antonio Palmieri, 3rd marquess of Martignano. He studied in Lecce before moving to Naples where he embraced a military career in 1734. He fought the Austrians at Messina in 1734 and at the Battle of Velletri in 1744. While in Naples he also studied philosophy and economy under Antonio Genovesi, one of the greatest Italian illuminists, while also learning Latin, French and German. In 1752 he was appointed lieutenant colonel. In 1761 he published his Critical Reflexions on the Art of War, which gained him critical acclaim. The book was even praised by Frederick II, king of Prussia.
Palmieri left the army the next year to succeed his father and went back to his lands near Lecce. As a landowner, he became interested in political economy and practical means to modernize the outdated economic system of southern Italy. In 1783 he was appointed director of the custom office of the Terra d'Otranto region. In 1787 he was summoned to Naples to enter the supreme treasury council and in 1791 he became the new Minister of Finance of the Kingdom.
During the 1780s, while conducting his political career, Palmieri published several books on economy, advocating reforms, governmental action to favor public welfare, a better redistribution of land property and the abolition of the feudal system. While in office, he worked closely with another key representative of Neapolitan Enlightenment, Gaetano Filangieri. Giuseppe Palmieri died in Naples in 1793.

Works