Skip to main content

Austrian and German Classics as a Foundation?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Economic Sociology for the 21st Century

Abstract

Austrian and German Classics as a Foundation?

In the historiography of economic sociology scholars of Germany and Austria, especially Max Weber, Joseph A. Schumpeter, and Karl Polanyi, figure prominently, although they did not aim at establishing such a field as a sub-discipline of sociology. I present some elements of their work briefly below, which are of special interest for a social view of the economy. A short overview on the development of economic sociology reveals changes in the meaning of the field from the discussions concerning the relation between economics and sociology to the new economic sociology and its present situation. Then I present my view as to why and in what sense those classics are still relevant for economic sociology in our time, emphasizing their historical-realistic orientation, their transdisciplinary approach, and their awareness of the reflexivity of social science.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    He was successor to Menger’s chair in Vienna.

References

  • Ã…kerman, J. H. (1938). Das Problem der sozialökonomischen Synthese. Lund: Gleerup.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, J. N., & Hannan, M. T. (1994). The impact of economics on contemporary sociology. Journal of Economic Literature, 32, 1111–1146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckert, J. (1996). What is sociological about economic sociology? Uncertainty and the embeddedness of economic action. Theory and Society, 25, 803–840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beckert, J. (2003). Beyond the market. The social foundations of economic efficiency. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Beckert, J. (2016). Imagined futures. Fictional expectations and capitalist dynamics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Beckert, J., & Zafirovski, M. (Eds.). (2006). International encyclopedia of economic sociology. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggart, N. W. (Ed.). (2002). Readings in economic sociology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural holes. The social structure of competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. (1991). The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbin, F. (Ed.). (2004). The new economic sociology: A reader. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fürstenberg, F. (1956). Die soziologische Dimension wirtschaftstheoretischer Aussagen. Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft, 112(3), 398–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerschenkron, A. (1962). Economic backwardness in historical perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (2002). A theoretical agenda for economic sociology. In M. F. Guillèn et al. (Eds.), The new economic sociology (pp. 35–59). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M., & Swedberg, R. (Eds.). (2001). The sociology of economic life (2nd ed.). Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guillèn, M. F., et al. (Eds.). (2002). The new economic sociology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). Varieties of capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jevons, W. S. (1879). The theory of political economy (2nd ed.). New York: Kelley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Köster, R. (2011). Die Wissenschaft der Außenseiter. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Krippner, G. (2001). The elusive market: Embeddedness and the paradigm of economic sociology. Theory and Society, 30, 775–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krippner, G., et al. (2004). Polanyi symposium: A conversation on embeddedness. Socio-Economic Review, 2, 109–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebaron, F. (2001). Bases of a sociological economy: From François Simiand and Maurice Halbwachs to Pierre Bourdieu. International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 38, 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, A. (1935). Economics and sociology. London: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, A. (1965). On economic knowledge. Toward a science of political economics. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maurer, A. (Ed.). (2010). Wirtschaftssoziologie nach Max Weber. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikl-Horke, G. (2008). Austrian economics and economic sociology. Socio-Economic Review, 6, 201–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mikl-Horke, G. (2011). Historische Soziologie––Sozioökonomie––Wirtschaftssoziologie. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mises, L. (1949). Human action. A treatise on economics. Hodge: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nee, V., & Swedberg, R. (Eds.). (2005). The economic sociology of capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neef, K. (2012). Die Entstehung der Soziologie aus der Sozialreform. Frankfurt: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. (1937a). The structure of social action. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. (1937b). Book review: Economics and sociology by Adolf Löwe. American Journal of Sociology, 43, 477–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. (1947). Weber’s ‘economic sociology’. Introduction. In T. Parsons (Ed.), Max Weber. The theory of social and economic organization (pp. 30–56). New York: Hodge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T., & Smelser, N. J. (1956). Economy and society: A study in the integration of economic and social theory. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (1924). Die funktionelle Theorie der Gesellschaft und das Problem der sozialistischen Rechnungslegung. Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik, 52, 218–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York: Farrar & Rinehart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (1968). In G. Dalton (Ed.), Primitive, archaic and modern economies. Essays. Garden City: Anchor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (1977). In H. W. Pearson (Ed.), The livelihood of man. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (2014). In G. Resta & M. Catanzariti (Eds.), For a new west. Essays, 1919–58. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K., et al. (Eds.). (1957). Trade and markets in the early empires. Glencoe: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. (1926 [1911]). Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung (2nd ed.). Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. (1926 [1939]). Business cycles. A theoretical, historical and statistical analysis of the capitalist process. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. (1926 [1942]). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. (1926 [1954]). History of economic analysis. London: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. A. (1926 [1991]). In R. Swedberg (Ed.), The economics and sociology of capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmel, G. (1900). Philosophie des Geldes. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smelser, N. J., & Swedberg, R. (Eds.). (2005). The handbook of economic sociology (2nd ed.). New York and Princeton: Russel Sage Foundation and Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sombart, W. (1930). Nationalökonomie und Soziologie. Jena: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streeck, W. (2016). How will capitalism end? Essays on a failing system. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (1991a). Major traditions of economic sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 251–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (1991b). Introduction: The man and his work. In J. A. Schumpeter (Ed.), The economics and sociology of capitalism (pp. 3–98). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (Ed.). (1996). Economic sociology. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (1998). Max Weber and the idea of economic sociology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (2003). Principles of economic sociology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Trigilia, C. (2002). Economic sociology: State, market, and society in modern capitalism. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wallerstein, I., et al. (1996). Open the social sciences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1976 [1922]). Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Grundriß der verstehenden Soziologie (5th ed.). Tübingen: Mohr. [Weber, Max. 1978 [1921]. Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. Edited by Guenther Roth et al. Berkeley CA: University of California Press; Weber, Max. 2019. Economy and society. A new translation. Edited by Keith Tribe. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.].

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1988a). Ãœber einige Kategorien der verstehenden Soziologie. In M. Weber (Ed.), Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre (7th ed., pp. 427–474). Tübingen: Mohr. [Weber, Max 1949: The Methodology of the Social Sciences. Edited by Edward H. Shils and Henry A. Finch. New York: Free Press.].

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1988b). Die ‘Objektivität’ sozialwissenschaftlicher und sozialpolitischer Erkenntnis. In M. Weber (Ed.), Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre (7th ed., pp. 146–214). Tübingen: Mohr. [Weber, Max 1949: The methodology of the social sciences. Edited by Edward H. Shils and Henry A. Finch. New York: Free Press.].

    Google Scholar 

  • White, H. C. (1981). Where do markets come from? American Journal of Sociology, 87, 517–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, H. C. (2002). Markets from networks. Socioeconomic models of production. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, R. (Ed.). (1992). European business systems. Firms and markets in their national contexts. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wieser, F. (1927). Social economics. New York: Adelphi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zafirovski, M. (1999). Economic sociology in retrospect and prospect: In search of its identity within economics and sociology. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 58, 583–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gertraude Mikl-Horke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mikl-Horke, G. (2021). Austrian and German Classics as a Foundation?. In: Maurer, A. (eds) Handbook of Economic Sociology for the 21st Century. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61619-9_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61619-9_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61618-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-61619-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics