Jakob Friedrich von Bielfeld

Jakob Friedrich von Bielfeld (31 March 1717 – 5 April 1770) was a German writer and statesman for the Kingdom of Prussia during the Age of Enlightenment.

When Frederick became King, Bielfeld started his diplomatic career as a Counselor to the Prussian Consulates in Hannover and London and Berlin afterwards.

In 1748 he married Dorothea Juliane von Reich and was ennobled as a Baron as a wedding gift from Frederick the Great.

Bielfeld developed his thought in a time when central Europe's nations were scattered due to the Peace of Westphalia.

[11] His most relevant work “Institutions Politiques” is written in the tradition of Fürstenspiegel (Kings Mirror), which goes back to Greek (Aristotle) and Roman (Pliny the Younger) and aims to list the virtues and duties of rulers and princess to establish the necessary wisdom and principles for good governance.

Bielfeld argued in favor for educating all the people of a Nation, which puts him in one line with the later Prussian Reform Movement.

According to Bielfeld, a state's highest purpose is to enrich the well being of the people in terms of culture, morality, wealth and opulence.

By creating categories of forces at work, Bielfeld's approach to economics and politics is taxonomic, which is typical for his time.

Therefore, it would be of great importance for a statesman to study the history of the decline of states, which he calls "revolutions" including its causes and effects.

[16] Concerning his view on pedagogy Bielfeld can be seen in one line with Emanuel Kant's "sapere aude", because he emphasizes the importance of the formation of an own will rather than the collection of knowledge.

Most of his work was written in French language and translated into German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Russian.