The General Welfare

Abstract

The “public welfare” was to Joseph II more than a catch phrase or a philosophic pretext for unpopular legislation. The welfare of his subjects was in fact of considerable concern to him, not alone for humanitarian reasons but because it was inseparably associated in his mind with the well-being and stability of the realm and indeed with the dynasty itself. But if not essentially altruistic, the Emperor’s solicitude for the commonweal was nonetheless sincere and genuine. A well-intentioned and earnest idealist, Joseph II aspired to save his people from their own “follies” and to lead them to their higher good, an ideal happily coincidental with monarchical interests.