Table Of ContentJob #: 100560
Author Name: Backhaus/Drechsler
Title of Book: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
ISBN #: 038732979x
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Economy and Society
The European Heritage inEconomics andthe SocialSciences
Editedby: Jürgen G.Backhaus
UniversityofErfurt
Frank H.Stephen
UniversityofManchester
Volume1
JosephAloisSchumpeter
JürgenG.Backhaus
Volume2
TheSouloftheGermanHistoricalSchool:
MethodologicalEssaysonSchmoller,Weber,andSchumpeter
YuichiShionoya
Volume3
FriedrichNietzsche(1844-1900):EconomyandSociety
JürgenG.BackhausandWolfgangDrechsler
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Economy and Society
edited by
Jürgen G. Backhaus
University of Erfurt, Germany
and
Wolfgang Drechsler
Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2006921989
ISBN:10:0-387-32979-X (Printedonacid-freepaper) e-ISBN-10:0-387-32980-3
ISBN-13:978-0387-32979-6 e-ISBN-13:978-0387-32980-2
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Table of Contents
ListofContributors vii
Preface ix
1. FriedrichNietzscheandEconomics:ResearchProblems 1
WolfgangDrechsler
2. TheInfluenceofNietzscheontheHistoryofEconomicThought 9
PeterR.Senn
3. NietzscheandEconomics 39
MarcelA.G.vanMeerhaeghe
4. CreativeDestructioninEconomics:Nietzsche,Sombart, 55
Schumpeter
HugoReinertandErikS.Reinert
5. TheWordofHonour 87
JürgenG.Backhaus
6. An‘AlltooHuman’Question:Nietzsche,DieSozialeFrage, 111
andtheGermanHistoricalSchoolofEconomics
SophusA.ReinertandErikS.Reinert
7. NietzscheandBusinessEthics 137
MarcelA.G.vanMeerhaeghe
8. OntheAnticipationofKnightianUncertaintyinNietzsche’s 145
GenealogyofMorals
StephenJohnNash
9. OntheNietzsche-ReceptionintheGDR 173
UlrichB.Busch
10. WolfgangHarichandFriedrichNietzsche–AChapteroftheEast 191
GermanNietzscheDebate
GünterKrause
11. JusticeandEconomyfromHuman,AllTooHumantoThusSpake 209
Zarathustra
RainerKattel
12. DemocracyandAristocracyinNietzsche’sLateWritings 229
OttoKaiser
Contributors
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): Economy and Society
Prof.Dr.Dr.h.c.JürgenG.BackhausLic.jur.
Dr.sc.UlrichBusch
Prof.Dr.WolfgangDrechsler
Prof.Dr.Dr.h.c.mult.OttoKaiser
Prof.RainerKattelPhD
Prof.Dr.GünterKrause
Prof.Dr.MarcelA.G.vanMeerhaeghe
Dr.StephenJ.Nash
Prof.ErikS.ReinertPhD
HugoReinert
SophusReinert
Prof.Dr.PeterSenn
Preface
Nietzsche – Economy and Society:
The Closed and the Open Questions
JürgenG.Backhausa andWolfgangDrechslerb
aUniversityofErfurt,Germany
bTallinnUniversityofTechnology,Estonia
Nietzsche’s impact and influence anywhere in and on our civilization was
and is immense.This has by now been widely recognized in almostall areas,
eveninthe“hardsciences”(seeBabich1999),butNietzscheisstillcompletely
understudiedinthefieldofeconomics.Thisisallthemoresurprisingbecause
influencepaths,bothserious(e.g.,JosephA.Schumpeter)andpopones(e.g.,
AynRand),seemobvious,andbecauseinsomeofhisworks,especiallyMen-
schliches, Allzumenschliches (1878-1886), a focus on economics is hard to
miss.Itwouldthusbeonlylikelythathehadsomesortofsignificantinfluence
there; yet, one can find hardly any references in the Nietzsche or economics
literatureonwhatkindofinfluencethatmighthavebeenorstillis.1
To remedy this situation, the idea to plan an exploratory conference on
Nietzsche and Economics arose. Because of the difficult and indeed unusual
topic, we found it necessary to even start with a pre-conference, where the
issues, questions, sources and possible approaches would be discussed. This
pre-conference took place in Heilbronn, in the framework of the Heilbronn
Symposia on Economics and the Social Sciences, in June 2000. The frame-
workwasanobviousone,inasmuchastheHeilbronnSymposia(seeDrechsler
1998,v-vii)wereoriginallyconceivedtoofferaforumforthereconsideration
ofatraditionofGermaneconomicandsocialthoughtthathadbecomealmost
entirelylost:theHistoricalSchool,whichinpoliticsispartiallysymbioticwith
the movements of Socialism of the Chair and State Socialism. This oblivion
was all the more astounding because it is this tradition upon which much of
the currently dominating socio-economic order in Germany, and to a certain
extentinmanyotherplacesaswell,theSocialMarketEconomy,isbased.The
taskatHeilbronnisnownotonlytostudythemainprotagonistsoftheHistor-
icalSchool,buttoapplytheirmethods andinsights totheproblemsoftoday;
inotherwords,tolookfortheircontemporaryrelevance.AsNietzschecanbe
x BackhausandDrechsler
seen as part of exactly this tradition as well – and this point will be made in
thisbook,heverymuchbelongstoHeilbronn.
On the basis of these preparations, a regular and very intensive conference
then took place in Venice, the city so closely associated with Nietzsche, in
January2001.2 ThiswasdoneintheframeworkoftheannualmeetingofThe
OtherCanongroup(seewww.othercanon.org),throughthegoodofficesofits
convenorandchairman,ErikS.Reinert.ThepaperspresentedinVenicewere
thenrevisedonthebasisoftheextensivediscussionandafterwardssubjected
to a rigorous peer review; those which passed are contained in the present
book. Because of the unusual topic, the review took much longer than usual
and explains to a great extent the relatively late publication of this volume.
Oneessaybelow,thatbySophusA.andErikS.Reinert,wasespeciallycom-
missioned right after the conference, because the discussion had shown that
atleastsomeexplorationofNietzscheandKathedersozialistenwasabsolutely
necessaryforthetopic.
NietzscheisdifficulttoaccessinanylanguageotherthanGerman,andthe
olderstandardtranslationsintoEnglisharegenerallyflawed(seealsosegment
2.4inchapterbelow).Still,thepresentbookhadtobeinEnglish,becausethe
fact of the matter is that English is the lingua franca of the academic world
thesedays,andknowledgethatisnottransmittedinitdoesgetlost.Partofthe
mission of the present series, “The European Heritage in Economics and the
Social Sciences”, is precisely to make such language-locked thought acces-
sible to the international audience. Hence also the presentation of Nietzsche
quotes in the running text in a (reliable and up-to-date or personal) English
translation and in the notes in the original German (also based on a reliable
edition).
The editors would like to thank, first,for the support of the Heilbronn pre-
conference, the City of Heilbronn, especially the Lord Mayor and the City
Council;second,forthesupportoftheVeniceconference,ErikS.Reinertand
theNorskInvestorforum.
Thisbookcannotbeexhaustive;itcannotevenhopetogiveafulloverview
of the issue of Nietzsche and Economics. We believe the topic to be very in-
teresting,important,andworthyoffutherresearch,however,andwehopethat
thisvolumewillatleastbeastartingpointforthoseinterestedinitssubject–
or that it will raise interest in a reader coming accidentally across it. If it will
dothis,itwillhavedoneitsjob.
NOTES
1. ArareexceptionfromtheNietzscheliteratureisOttmann,1987,esp.pp.124-146.
2. Anatmosphericdescriptionoftheconferenceanditssurroundingsbyoneoftheparticipants
isBusch,2001.
