The poverty in the "specular literature" in castilla of the 17th century: Juan de Mariana and Saavedra Fajardo

Abstract

This paper will present reflections on the theme of poverty in the works of Juan de Mariana (1535-1624), and Diego Saavedra Fajardo (1584-1648), authors of two important Mirrors of Princes of the XVII century. In this sense, firstly a brief introduction regarding the literature of Mirrors of Princes, or the education of rulers will be presented. The issue of poverty was another question included in this literature. We shall also highlight the ideas concerning relief to the poor developed by Juan de Mariana (1535-1624) in De Rege (1599, 1605), and Diego Saavedra Fajardo (1584-1648) in El príncipe político cristiano (1640). Juan de Mariana, when confronted with the issue of poverty, does so from a secularized perspective, a perspective that allows us to ascribe him to the group of authors who gradually became part of the secularizing process of charity. It will be in Diego Saavedra where the concern not only about poverty but also about the depopulation is clearly seen as another variable in an impoverished country. The objective is to show the close connection between the mirrors and economic thought, echoing the observation made by the prestigious historian of economic ideas Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson (1982). She points out that in the “mirror-books” discussions on taxation and other economic issues circumscribed to the subject of the art of governing can be found. We consider that to these issues, others related to public management, the institutional framework and economic growth.