Das Lebenswerk von Graf Imre Széchényi, des Agrarierpolitikers und Publizisten des Zeitalters des Dualismus

Abstract

The purpose of the study: To present the work of Count Imre Széchényi, a lesser-known Somogy-affiliated leader of the agrarian movement that criticized the capitalism of the end of the 19th century from the right-side. Through his theoretical and political activities to demonstrate the reform conservative toolbox with which this course at that time imagined the settlement of the peasant issue, the overcoming and the agrarian socialism. Applied methods: A critical analysis of Imre Széchényi's writings in the light of the 19th press and publications was conducted. The conclusions were complemented by analyses of agricultural and local historiography. For better contextualization, it was advisable to examine agricultural proposals with the eyes of the agricultural economist. The scenes of Imre Széchényi's operation were presented with the help of thematic maps. Outcomes: Imre Széchényi's work closely fitted into the public perception of the era, which was thinking strongly about national politics. In the age of great emigration, he also admitted that there was no Hungarian land without Hungarian small owners. Imre Széchényi saw this as feasible by adapting foreign patterns. The American journey convinced him of the usefulness of the institution of homestead, and the experience of Posen convinced him of the importance of inner colonization. It is another matter, how favourable the Hungarian conditions were to transpose them? The one-child-system, the decrease in the birth rate was again something by which one saw the Hungarian supremacy in danger. In addition, Imre Széchényi's narrower environment, Somogy, was among the leading areas in this. Széchényi saw the solution in moral rather than economic motives in his otherwise highly resonant writing dealing with the topic. Nevertheless, Imre Széchényi played an active role in the economic development of Somogy county. Thus, after the phylloxera epidemic, he, as a government commissioner was entrusted with the reconstruction of vineyard in the region of South Balaton. Similarly, he played a great role in the development of the Balaton coast, seeing the opportunity in tourism.