Viennese Students of Civilization - The Meaning and Context of Austrian Economics Reconsidered

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Cultivating economic knowledge; 3. Trapped between ignorance, customs and social forces; 4. The market - civilizing or disciplinary force?; 5. Instincts, civilization and communities; 6. Therapeutic nihilism or the humility of the student; 7. The student as defender of civilization; 8. The student of civilization and his culture; 9. Meaning lost, meaning found; 10. What it means to be a student of civilization.

About the author

Erwin Dekker is Assistant Professor in Cultural Economics at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. He has published in the fields of cultural economics, economic methodology and intellectual history, and he is currently working on valuation and the qualitative measurement of quality.

Summary

This book argues that the work of the Austrian economists, including Carl Menger, Joseph Schumpeter, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, has been narrowly interpreted. Through a study of Viennese politics and culture, it is demonstrated that the project they were engaged in was much broader: the study of civilization.

Additional text

'Dekker provides an insightful account of Viennese intellectual culture and its role in shaping Austrian Economics during its formative decades. His focus upon local academic networks is a very productive and original approach to this field, and references to contemporary Viennese literature add analytical value to this.' Alexander Ebner, The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought

Product details

• Authors: Erwin Dekker, Erwin (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam) Dekker, Dekker Erwin
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.05.2019
• EAN: 9781107565661
• ISBN: 978-1-107-56566-1
• No. of pages: 234
• Series: Historical Perspectives on Modern Economics
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Economics; austria, History of Ideas, Economics, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History, HISTORY / Social History, Economic history, c 1919 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), c 1918 to c 1939 (Inter-war period)