Natural law as inspiration to Adolph Wagner's theory of public intervention

Adolph Wagner is best known for his principle regarding the increase of state intervention into the economy. Such a principle is characterised by an 'ethical economy' perspective, incorporating some original ideas based on the relationship between the law and political economy. Wagner's theory sought to legitimise state intervention and progressive taxation by referring to both a broad Aristotelianism and a specific philosophy of law derived from Krausian natural law. This paper analyses and compares how this idea of the law affects Wagner's theorisation of state-economy interaction and his insights into public economics.