抄録
This paper explores why Hume wrote essays on tax and public credit in his Political Discourses, in light of the conclusion of his A Treatise of Human Nature. In the Treatise, Hume reached the conclusion that a stable government is need-ed to maintain the stability of the society, which is likely to be diminished by the various kinds of self-interest of its members. According to his es-say on public credit in the Discourses, the Brit-ish government suffered its public finance crisis due to struggles among political parties and the prevailing policies governing the international balance of power. He worried that the increasing lack of faith in the British governmentʼs ability to manage public finance would bring about its collapse. Furthermore, he asserted that should the British government fall, civil society would be unable to subsist. Therefore, he suggested ways for the British government to handle and overcome its public finance crisis in his essay on tax.
Humeʼs prescription was as follows: The consumption of luxury should be increased, be-cause individuals always seek luxurious goods to gratify their own desires. Moreover, he advo-cated encouraging refinement in the arts and manners, because he perceived that this would decrease the price of luxurious goods and in-crease their consumption and the tax revenue. Thus, Hume considered excise on luxury goods as the best measure for overcoming the crisis.
The reason for Hume writing these essays on tax and public debt lay in his belief that the col-lapse of the British government needed to be avoided at all costs, in the interests of maintain-ing social order.
JEL classification number: B 12.
