This article uncovers the theory of industrialization of the eighteenth-century German Cameralist Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi, who was the most important figure in German Cameralism. This topic is highly underexamined. This article finds that Justi proposed four reasons for industrialization in order to promote economic development: (1) manufacturing had a highly differentiated division of labor; (2) manufacturing was an innovation- intensive activity; (3) manufacturing was a science-based activity; and (4) manufacturing cultivated people’s psychological qualities which were required to realize economic development. Based on these findings, this thesis argues that Justi’s theories of industrialization and innovation contemplated a model of economic development similar to what is known today as “Schumpeterian growth.” This article aims to deepen our understanding of the significance of manufacturing and innovation in the early modern mercantilist and Cameralist economic theories.
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