Table Of ContentStudies in Economic Ethics and Philosophy
Series Editor Editorial Board
Peter Koslowski F. Neil Brady
James M. Buchanan
Richard De George
Jon Elster
Amitai Etzioni
Gerard Gafgen
Serge-Christophe Kolm
Michael S. McPherson
Yuichi Shionoya
Philippe Van Parijs
Springer
Berlin
Heidelberg
New York
Barcelona
Budapest
Hong Kong
London
Milan
Paris
Santa Clara
Singapore
Tokyo
Studies in Economic Ethics and Philosophy
P. Koslowski (Ed.)
Ethics in Economics, Business, and Economic Policy
(out of print)
192 pages. 1992
P. Koslowski· Y. Shionoya (Eds.)
The Good and the Economical
Ethical Choices in Economics and Management
(out of print)
212 pages. 1993
H. De Geer (Ed.)
Business Ethics in Progress?
124 pages. 1994
P. Koslowski (Ed.)
The Theory of Ethical Economy in the Historical School
345 pages. 1995
A. Argandona (Ed.)
The Ethical Dimension of Financial Institutions
and Markets
264 pages. 1995
G.K. Becker (Ed.)
Ethics in Business and Society.
Chinese and Western Perspectives
232 pages. 1996
P. Koslowski
Ethics of Capitalism and Critique of Sociobiology.
Two Essays with a Comment by James M. Buchanan
153 pages. 1996
F. Neil Brady (Ed.)
Ethical Universals in International Business
255 pages. 1996
P. Koslowski and A. F011esdal (Eds.)
Restructuring the Welfare State
Theory and Reform of Social Policy
410 pages. 1997
G. Erreygers and T. Vandevelde
Is Inheritance Legitimate?
Ethical and Economic Aspects
of Wealth Transfers
236 pages. 1997
P. Koslowski (Ed.)
Business Ethics
in East Central Europe
163 pages. 1997
Peter Koslowski (Ed.)
Methodology
of the Social Sciences,
Ethics, and Economics
in the Newer
Historical School
From Max Weber and Rickert
to Sombart and Rothacker
With 2 Figures
and 1 Table
" Springer
Professor Dr. Peter Koslowski
Centre for Ethical Economy and Business Culture
The Hannover Institute of Philosophical Research
GerberstraBe 26
D-30169 Hannover
Germany
Editorial Assistant:
Anna Maria Hauk M.A.
ISBN 3-540-63458-4 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
Die Deutsche Bibliothek -CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Methodology of the social sciences, ethics, and economics in the newer
historical school: from Max Weber and Rickert to Sombart and Rothacker; with
1 table I Peter Koslowski (ed.). -Berlin; Heidelberg; New York ; Barcelona
, Budapest; Hong Kong; London; Milan; Paris; Santa Clara; Singapore;
TokyO: Springer, 1997
(Studies in economic ethics and philosophy)
ISBN 3-540-63458-4
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Preface
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.
It followed the SEEP-Conference on Economics and Ethics "Economics
and Ethics in the Historical School of Economics. Achievements and Present
Relevance. Part A: The Older Historical School, Schmoller, Dilthey, and
Others" held in 1994 and published in 1995 under the title The Theory of
Ethical Economy in the Historical School. Wilhelm Roscher, Lorenz von
Stein, Gustav Schmoller, Wilhelm Di/they and Contemporary Theory as
volume 7 in the series at hand.
In the conferences and book publications on the Historical School, a third
and final conference will be held in two sections in autumn 1997 on the topic
of "Economics and Ethics in the Historical School of Economics. Part C:
Economic Ethics and Theory of Capitalism in the German Tradition of Eco
nomics -Historism as a Challenge to the Social Sciences", concentrating on
PREFACE
the theory of capitalism and on the challenge that historism presents to to
day's economic ethics and business ethics.
The focus of the debate has shifted between the fIrst two volumes on the
Historical School. The fIrst volume on the Older Historical School concen
trates on the ethical and historical theory of economics. With this second
volume, the emphasis shifts from "ethical economics" to the theory and
methodology of economics and of the cultural and social sciences in the
Newer Historical School. The normative question loses importance compared
to the 19th century and the methodological problems gain in importance in
the development of the Historical School from the 19th to the 20th century.
The ethical and cultural dimension is, however, still present
In the volume at hand, the debate about the German tradition of econom
ics and of the cultural and social sciences is also extended from the Historical
School to other approaches in the German tradition, to Neo-Kantianism, the
sociology of knowledge in Max Scheler and Karl Mannheim, and to Georg
Simmel's approach to the money economy. As in the fIrst volume, the in
fluence of the Historical School on other traditions of thought, in the volume
at hand on the Austrian School of Economics and on American, British,
Japanese and Russian economic science, is examined in addition to the pre
sentation of the German theorists.
The conference at the basis of this volume and the whole project have
been organized by the Centrum ffir Ethische 6konomie und Wirtschaftskultur
des Forschungsinstituts ffir Philosophie Hannover -Centre for Ethical Econ
omy and Business Culture, The Hannover Institute of Philosophical Re
search, Hannover, Germany, with the support of the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung
Koln and the Stiftung Forschungsinstitut ffir Philosophie Hannover.
The editor wishes to thank his co-workers at the Centre for Ethical Econ
omy and Business Culture for their assistance in organizing the conference
meetings at Marienrode and Anna Maria Hauk M.A. for her assistance in
preparing the manuscript.
A special word of gratitude is due the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung whose fI
nancial support made the SEEP-conference in 1996 possible.
Hannover, May 1997 P.K.
VI
Contents
Preface ......................................................................................... V
Pan One
On Max Weber's Contribution
Chapter 1
The Present Relevance of Max Weber's Wertrationalitiit (Value
Rationality)
RAYMOND BOUDON ....•.......................................•...........•......•.....•. 3
Discussion Summary .................................................................... 30
Chapter 2
Max Weber and Ludwig von Mises, and the Methodology of the Social
Sciences
RICARDO F. CRESPO .................................................................... 32
Discussion Summary .................................................................... 52
CONTENTS
Part Two
Neo-Kantianism, Wissenssoziologie (Sociology of Knowledge),
and the Sociological Theory of Money and Exchange
Chapter 3
Value Theory and the Foundations of the Cultural Sciences.
Remarlcs on Rickert
GUY OAKES ...................................... ........................................... 59
Chapter 4
The Sociology of Knowledge and Diagnosis of Time with Max Scheler
and Karl Mannheim
KARL ACHAM .............................................................................. 79
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 113
Chapter 5
Georg Simmel's Contribution to a Theory of the Money Economy
RAIMUND DIEIZ ......................................................................... 115
Part Three
Ethics and Economics in Sombart, Spiethoff, Freyer,
and in Older German Business Administration
Chapter 6
Ethics and Economics in the Work of We mer Sombart
FRIEDRICH LENGER ..................................................................... 147
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 164
VIIl
CONTENTS
Chapter 7
Historical Changes and Economics in Arthur Spiethoffs Theory of
Wirtschaftsstil (Style of an Economic System)
VIT ANTONIO GIOIA ...................................................................... 168
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 191
Chapter 8
Hans Freyer's Economic Philosophy After World War II
VOI.KER KRUSE .......................................................................... 194
Chapter 9
Business Ethics in Older German Business Administration:
Heinrich Nicklisch, Wilhelm Kalveram, August Marx
UDO NEUGEBAUER ...................................................................... 209
Part Four
Austrian Economics and the Historical School
Chapter 10
Carl Menger and the Historicism in Economics
KllCffiRO Y AGI ........................................................................... 231
Chapter 11
The 'Irrelevance' of Ethics for the Austrian School
RAIMONDO CUBEDDU .................................................................. 259
Summary of the Discussions on K. Yagi and R. Cubeddu ................... 285
IX
CONTENTS
Part Five
The Historical School and American and British Economists:
John R. Commons, Frank Knight, Alfred Marshall
Chapter 12
The Historicism of John R. Commons's Legal Foundations of Capitalism
JEFF BIDDLE and WARREN 1. SAMUELS .......................................... 291
Chapter 13
Frank Knight and the Historical School
CLAUS NOPPENEY ....................................................................... 319
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 340
Chapter 14
Method and Marshall
D. E. MOGGRIOOE ...................................................................... 342
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 370
Part Six
The Historical School and the Development of Economics
in Japan and Russia
Chapter 15
Two Developments of the Concept of Anschauliche Theorie (Concrete
Theory) in Germany and Japan
TETSUSHI HARADA ...................................................................... 375
Discussion Summary ................................................................... 411
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