Paolo Silvestri will be featured at the first EPERN seminar of the 2023-2024 seminar series. We will delve into his latest paper, “Luigi Einaudi’s ‘Scienza delle Finanze’ or the Science of Good Government.” Silvestri's paper was recently published in the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought: https://doi.org/10.1080/09672567.2023.2249295

This paper rediscovers the meaning and relevance of Luigi Einaudi’s Scienza delle Finanze, which still aspired to a reflection on man and good polity. It reconstructs some key moments in Einaudi’s thought: the vision of the fiscal process, the legal-political speculation, the last reflections aimed at going beyond both the Italian Tradition in Public Finance and Wicksell’s scheme, up to the synthesis elaborated in the critical point theory. Einaudi shows why the fiscal process is at the heart of horizontal/vertical reciprocities and vicious/virtuous circles between society and state, and why a good polity needs free and morally responsible people.

Paolo Silvestri is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy of Law at the University of Catania, Italy. Specializing in the Philosophy of Economics and Law, he identifies as a 'Humanomist', seeking insights into our shared humanity. His ongoing research project, "Homo Contribuens", examines the intricate relationships between concepts like solidarity, freedom, and equality. Paolo delves deep into institutionalized vs. spontaneous solidarity, exploring areas like the fiscal contract's role in the social fabric, contrasting notions like welfare state vs. third sector, and taxation vs. gift.