SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE OF VASYL KARAZIN FOR RECOVERY AND STRENGTHENING OF UKRAINIAN ECONOMY (to the 250th anniversary of his birth)

Abstract

250 years have passed since the birth of Vasyl Karazin (1773-1842), but his scientific legacy retains its value and relevance for solving modern problems. Thus, in the context of the tasks of the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian economy, his ideas are important, particularly those concerning the strengthening the national economy through the development and technological modernization of production, protecting the internal market and encouraging the industrial processing of agricultural raw materials, stimulating innovation and improving education for modernization and increasing the competitiveness of the economy, taking into account environmental parameters and focusing economic activity on reducing the negative impact of climate change. The following major areas of V. Karazin’s state and public activity are revealed: 1) development of the reforms of public administration, land ownership, and land use, the institutional support for freedom of economic activity and development of entrepreneurship, the means to strengthen the national monetary unit rate and stabilize money circulation; 2) substantiation of the importance of education, science, and innovative activities as drivers of economic development and social progress; development of the legislative and regulatory framework for the creation of a public education system and ensuring access to knowledge for all strata of society; initiation and organizational support for the creation of Kharkiv University as a center for training the national scientific and technical elite; 3) organization and popularization of experimental research activities for technological modernization of agricultural production, development of local industry, improvement of people’s welfare; founding of the Philotechnical Society; implementation of zero-waste production principles in agriculture based on his original experimental developments and the use of the latest technologies. It is argued that by developing economic policy measures aimed at the preservation, effective use, and augmentation of natural and economic potential, foreseeing the growing role of knowledge in social development, Vasyl Karazin became the harbinger of the human-centric economic paradigm. His innovative economic, scientific, educational, and public activities should serve as a beacon for the modern national elite of Ukraine.