This file is a brief wartime letter by Joseph Alois Schumpeter, dated 14 January 1917, addressed deferentially to an aristocratic recipient as “Euer Erlaucht.” Its scope is narrow but politically suggestive: Schumpeter is not developing the content of the two memoranda he encloses, but explaining their origin, circulation, and intended function within conservative political networks of the Habsburg Monarchy.
The central purpose of the letter is to transmit “je eine Copie zweier Memoranden” written during the previous year and previously circulated by Prince Jaroslav Thun. Schumpeter frames these documents as instruments for political clarification among like-minded conservatives. His main thesis is that the Monarchy’s future depends on serious discussion in conservative circles leading to a firm position on both foreign and domestic questions.
Mit gleicher Post erlaube ich mir Euer Erlaucht je eine Copie zweier Memoranden zu übersenden, die ich im Laufe des verflossenen Jahres niederschrieb und die von Seiner Durchlaucht dem Fürsten Jaroslav Thun etwa zwölf andern Herrn mitgeteilt wurden.
English translation: By the same post I take the liberty of sending Your Illustrious Highness a copy of each of two memoranda which I wrote in the course of the past year and which were communicated by His Serene Highness Prince Jaroslav Thun to some twelve other gentlemen.
The letter’s key conceptual move is to present private memoranda as a “Substrat” for collective deliberation. Schumpeter’s language is modest, but the political stakes he assigns to discussion are high. He asks that, if the recipient approves, the memoranda might be passed on to “Gesinnungsgenossen,” thereby turning aristocratic correspondence into a channel for coordinated conservative opinion formation.
Ich bin Euer Erlaucht sehr dankbar für die Erlaubnis dieselben übersenden zu dürfen und werde mich außerordentlich freuen, wenn sie den Beifall Euer Erlaucht finden, in welchem Fall sich Euer Erlaucht vielleicht bewogen fühlen, sie an Gesinnungsgenossen gelangen zu lassen: Es ist so wichtig für die ganze Zukunft der Monarchie, daß eine rege Diskussion in konservativen Kreisen zu einer entschlossenen Stellungnahme in äußern und innern Fragen führe, daß auch ein noch so bescheidenes Substrat für eine solche Diskussion vielleicht gute Dienste leisten kann.
English translation: I am very grateful to Your Illustrious Highness for permission to send them, and shall be extraordinarily pleased if they meet with Your Illustrious Highness's approval, in which case Your Illustrious Highness might perhaps feel moved to pass them on to like-minded persons: it is so important for the whole future of the Monarchy that a lively discussion in conservative circles should lead to a resolute stance on external and internal questions, that even a very modest substrate for such a discussion may perhaps do good service.
Structurally, the letter has three parts: a respectful transmission of the memoranda, an explanation of their production and earlier reception, and a formal closing. The second paragraph clarifies that the memoranda arose sequentially: the first in spring 1916, the second as a reply to criticisms and responses elicited by the first. This gives the enclosed writings a dialogic history rather than presenting them as isolated position papers.
Das erste der beiden Memoranden stammt aus dem Frühjahr 1916.
English translation: The first of the two memoranda dates from the spring of 1916.
Schumpeter then identifies Prince Thun’s role in prompting the continuation of the exchange. The second memorandum is described as a response requested after reactions to the first had been received, indicating that the material belonged to an ongoing political conversation among a limited elite circle.
Die eingelaufenen Antworten und Kritiken veranlaßten Se. Durchlaucht den Fürsten Thun eine Replik zu wünschen und um diesen Wunsch zu erfüllen, entstand das zweite Memorandum.
English translation: The replies and criticisms received prompted His Serene Highness Prince Thun to wish for a rejoinder, and in order to fulfil this wish the second memorandum came into being.
The relevance of the letter lies in this glimpse of Schumpeter as a participant in wartime political advising and conservative networking. Its rhetoric combines deference, discretion, and urgency: he speaks from a subordinate social position, but he also presses the need for decisive conservative orientation at a moment when the Monarchy’s future appeared uncertain. The letter therefore functions as a covering note, but also as evidence of how Schumpeter imagined political influence: through memoranda, selective circulation, aristocratic patronage, criticism, reply, and eventual consolidation of opinion.
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