Volksaufklärung - Ausgewählte Schriften / Band 8: Rudolph Zacharias Becker (1752–1822) / Heinrich Gottlob Zerrenner (1750–1811)

In this work, Becker promotes his famous ‹Noth- und Hülfsbüchlein‹ (A Little Book of Needful Help). His appeal, including the expert assessments by K. Th. von Dalberg, F. E. von Rochow, K. A. von Zedlitz and F. von Fürstenberg resulted in the largest sale by subscription during the German Enlightenment. Zerrenner‹s work was probably the first to have the term »Volksaufklärung« (Popular Enlightenment) in its title. It outlines the discrepancy between the volition and the ability of some of the popular enlighteners to „make the peasants wiser, better, more well-mannered, wealthier and happier, more useful to society.“