Arthur Spiethoff And The German Historical School

Arthur Spiethoff (1873–1957), an economist of the German Historical School of Economics, is best known for his theory of the business cycle. Despite Spiethoff calling for a unified reading of his work, his epistemological thinking has received less attention. This book addresses that gap by analysing Spiethoff’s theory of the business cycle in the light of his epistemological views. Putting Spiethoff’s work in context, the book also investigates the most significant features of the evolution of the “research programme” of the German Historical School of Economics, with particular reference to the relationships between Schmoller, Sombart, Weber and Spiethoff. In addition, Spiethoff’s work is compared with some of the scientific orientations of the current debates: on the epistemological side, the book examines the relationship between Spiethoff’s views and some contemporary thinking on scientific realism, as well as methodological pluralism in social sciences. And, more broadly, it emphasises the analytical relevance of the historical approach in explaining the economic imbalances of contemporary capitalism, questioning the idea, widespread in the neoclassical approach, that taking historical specificities into account makes it hard to achieve a theoretically effective attitude. This book is a significant addition to the literature on the German Historical School of Economics and the history of economic thought, business cycle theory and macroeconomics more broadly.

"Arthur Spiethoff (1873-1957), an economist of the German Historical School of Economics, is best known for his theory of the business cycle. Despite Spiethoff calling for a unified reading of his work, his epistemological thinking has received less attention. This book addresses that gap by analysing Spiethoff's theory of the business cycle in the light of his epistemological views. Putting Spiethoff's work in context, the book also investigates the most significant features of the evolution of the "research programme" of the German Historical School of Economics, with particular reference to the relationships between Schmoller, Sombart, Weber and Spiethoff. In addition, Spiethoff's work is compared with some of the scientific orientations of the current debates: on the epistemological side, the book examines the relationship between Spiethoff's views and some contemporary thinking on scientific realism, as well as methodological pluralism in social sciences. And, more broadly, it emphasises the analytical relevance of the historical approach in explaining the economic imbalances of contemporary capitalism, questioning the idea, widespread in the neoclassical approach, that taking historical specificities into account makes it hard to achieve a theoretically effective attitude. This book is a significant addition to the literature on the German Historical School of Economics and the history of economic thought, business cycle theory and macroeconomics more broadly"--

The volume at hand gives an exposition of the tradition of the Historical School of Economics and of the Geisteswissenschaften or human sciences, the latter in their development within the Historical School as well as in Neo-Kantianism and the sociology of knowledge. It continues the discussion started in the year 1994 on the Older Historical School of Economics and the 19th century German contribution to an ethical theory of economics with the Newer Historical School of the 20th century. Economists, social scientists, and philosophers examine the contribution of this tradition and its impact for present theory. The schools of thought and their approaches to economics as well as to the cultural and social sciences are examined here not as much for their historical interest as for their poten tial systematic contribution to the contemporary debates on economic ethics, economics, sociology, and philosophy. The volume at hand contains the proceedings of the Fourth Annual SEEP-Conference on Economic Ethics and Philosophy in 1996, "Economics and Ethics in the Historical School. Part B: Max Weber, Heinrich Rickert, Max Scheler, Werner Sombart, Arthur Spiethoff, John Commons, Alfred Marshall, and Others", held at Marienrode Monastery near Hannover, Germa ny, on March 27-30th, 1996, together with several additional invited papers.

The financial crisis of 2008 has revived interest in economic scholarship from a historical perspective. The most in depth studies of the relationship between economics and history can be found in the work of the so-called German Historical School (GHS). The influence of the GHS in the USA and Britain has been well documented, but far less has been written on the rest of Europe. This volume studies the interconnection between economic thought and economic policy from the mid-nineteenth century to the interwar period. It examines how the School’s ideas spread and was interpreted in different European countries between 1850 and 1930, analysing its legacies in these countries. In doing so, the book is able to trace the interconnection between economic thought and economic policy, adding new voices to the debate on the diffusion of ideas and flow of knowledge. This book identifies issues related to topics such as nationalism and cosmopolitanism in the history of ideas and clarifies themes in policy making that are still currently debated. These include monetary policy and benefits of free trade for all parties involved in international exchanges. This book will be of a great interest to those who study history of economic thought, economic theory and political economy.

This book clarifies the approach of the German Historical School by the reconstruction of their achievements in terms of rational and historical context.

This volume is a collection of my essays on Gustav von Schmoller (1838– 1917), Max Weber (1864–1920), and Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883–1950), published during the past fifteen years. These three intellectual giants are connected with the German Historical School of Economics in different ways. In the history of economics, the German Historical School has been described as a heterodox group of economic researchers who flourished in the Germ- speaking world throughout the nineteenth century. The definition of a “school” is always problematic. Even if the core of a certain idea were identified in the continuous and discontinuous process of the filiation and ramification of thought, it is still possible to trace its predecessors, successors, and sympathizers in different directions, creating an amorphous entity of a school. It is beyond question, however, that Schmoller was the leader of the younger German Historical School, the genuine school with a sociological 1 reality. Schmoller was indeed the towering figure of the Historical School at its zenith.

Atlantic slavery represents one of the blackest pages of human history. European powers not only colonised American lands but also brought African men and women to work as slaves on plantations. Intellectuals did not remain indifferent to this practice and – from the second half of the 18th century – criticised the institution of slavery from an ethical, legal, and economic point of view. This book aims to briefly illustrate the colonisation process implemented by France and Great Britain in the Caribbean and to reconstruct the debate on colonialism and slavery that developed in these two countries, approaching the issue from the standpoint of the History of Economic Thought. The decisive phase in this debate took place in the second half of the 18th century, when some classical economists belonging to the cultural movement of the Enlightenment laid the foundations for the critique of a production system based on slavery. On the same basis, some economists of the first half of the 19th century continued to express their critical attitude towards slavery and colonialism. The ideas of the Enlightenment, although of European origin, are also useful in analysing the different levels of development that the former American colonies achieved following independence, choosing to invest in either industry or agriculture. This book provides the reader with the critical tools to understand that opting for slavery was not only an unforgivable sin in human history but also an economically irrational choice.

This volume proposes a reconsideration of ecological and environmental aspects of the work and ideas of various heterodox authors and traditions in the history of economic thought, including the field of economic development. Many of the contributors to this book focus on thinkers and works which are not typically considered as part of the ecological sphere, while others consider such economists in a new light or domain. Thus, the book elucidates a new and useful research field of reconsidering ecological dimensions in the traditional history of economic thought as well as helping to delineate alternative views for ongoing debates on ecological themes. Did Veblen, Keynes, Sraffa, C. Furtado and other key economists and schools of thought of our age have relevant and useful insights with respect to environmental issues? Which aspects of their intellectual legacies should eventually be discarded in the face of our new environmental challenges? On the contrary, what aspects of their economic theories can be updated and adapted to a better interpretation of our present ecological concerns? How do they differ, and why? The essays contained in this book will help to answer these questions, by means of recovering, analysing and updating the work of some of the most relevant heterodox economists and schools of thought of our time. This book will be of great interest for readers in the history of economic thought, ecological economics, environmental economics and economic development.

Few would dispute that many Western industrial democracies undertook extensive deregulation in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet this narrative, in its most familiar form, depends upon several historiographical assumptions that bely the complexities and pitfalls of studying the recent past. Across thirteen case studies, the contributors to this volume investigate this “deregulatory moment” from a variety of historical perspectives, including transnational, comparative, pan-European, and national approaches. Collectively, they challenge an interpretive framework that treats individual decades in isolation and ignores broader trends that extend to the end of the Second World War.