Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Was Ludwig von Mises a Conventionalist? pp 1–5Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Introduction: The Political Context of Mises’ Methodology

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 341 Accesses

Abstract

Since the financial crisis in 2007 at the latest, the Austrian School of Economics has experienced a boom in public attention. By comparison, its reputation within academia is battered. In particular, the radical Neo-Austrian branch is regarded as dogmatic, unscientific, and politically biased. The characteristic feature of this radical wing is the exclusive use of praxeology as the methodology of the theoretical social sciences. Ludwig von Mises was the first to explicate and justify praxeology. The book aims at a rational reconstruction of Mises’ position in the philosophy of science.

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

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   64.99
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

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Originally Mises called his approach “sociology”, but soon switched to the less-occupied term “praxeology”. For other related uses of the term, see (Chipman 2004).

  2. 2.

    History of the Austrian School: Dekker (2016a, 2016b) provides a panorama of the cultural and intellectual environment in which Mises and Hayek developed their far-reaching interests. Raico (2012) is concerned with the liberal tradition in the Austrian School. Craver (1986) and Klausinger (2006) review the biographies of leading economists in interwar Vienna, many of whom emigrated to the United States. Boettke and Coyne (2015a) and Salerno (2002) focus on the subsequent development of the Neo-Austrian School. The role of the Austrian School in the development of economics is discussed by Klausinger (2011) and Streissler (2002), and from a Neo-Austrian perspective by Hoppe (1996). Last not least, Mises himself published a history of the Austrian School (2003). Finally, see Wilhelm Weber (1949) and Milford (2015) for analytical histories of economic science in Austria, reaching back before Carl Menger.

  3. 3.

    Economic theory of the Austrian School: A starting point for non-economists is (Schulak and Unterköfler 2011) to be followed by picking and choosing from several excellent handbooks (Boettke 1998, 2010; Boettke and Coyne 2015b; Holcombe 2014).

  4. 4.

    General introductions to the philosophy or methodology of the Austrian School are due to Cubeddu (1993), Leube (1995), Barry Smith (1998, 1986, 1990), White (2003), and Boettke and Coyne (2015b). Except for Mises and Rothbard, the most influential defense of praxeology is provided by Hoppe. See (Hoppe 1995, 1983) for his epistemology of the social sciences.

  5. 5.

    Finally, we come to biographical material on Mises. In the shadow of Hülsmann’s monumental biography (2007), Mises memoirs (2009) and his wife Margit Mises’ recollections (1976) are primarily of anecdotal value. Herbener (1991) analytically reviews Mises’ theoretical contributions.

  6. 6.

    See also (Bühler 2002).

  7. 7.

    Allowing for the scope of this short monograph, these opposing positions can as a matter of course be depicted in broad strokes only. However, Mises’ own frequently oversimplifying portrayals are more relevant and decisive for our main arguments interests anyway.

References

  • ———. ed. 1998. The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics. Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. ed. 2010. Handbook on Contemporary Austrian Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boettke, Peter J., and Christopher J. Coyne. 2015a. “Introduction: Austrian Economics as a Progressive Research Program in the Social Sciences.” In Boettke and Coyne 2015b, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. eds. 2015b. The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bühler, Axel. 2002. “Nutzen und methodische Eigenheiten rationaler Rekonstruktionen im Rahmen ideengeschichlicher Untersuchungen”. Internationale Zeitschrift für Philosophie 11(1): 117–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chipman, John. 2004. “Slutsky’s Praxeology and his Critique of Böhm-Bawerk”. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 15(3): 345–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craver, Earlene. 1986. “The Emigration of the Austrian Economists”. History of Political Economy 18(1): 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cubeddu, Raimondo. 1993. The Philosophy of the Austrian School. London, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekker, Erwin. 2016a. “Left Luggage: Finding the Relevant Context of Austrian Economics”. The Review of Austrian Economics 29(2): 103–119. doi: 10.1007/s11138-014-0295-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2016b. The Viennese Students of Civilization: The Meaning and Context of Austrian Economics Reconsidered. Historical Perspectives on Modern Economics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Herbener, Jeffrey M. 1991. “Ludwig von Mises and the Austrian School of Economics”. The Review of Austrian Economics 5(2): 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holcombe, Randall G. 2014. Advanced Introduction to the Austrian School of Economics. Elgar Advanced Introduction. Cheltenham: Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe, Hans-Hermann. 1983. Kritik der kausalwissenschaftlichen Sozialforschung: Untersuchungen zur Grundlegung von Soziologie und Ökonomie. Studien zur Sozialwissenschaft 55. Opladen: Westdt. Verl.; VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1995. Economic Science and the Austrian Method. Auburn, Ala: Ludwig Von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1996. “Die Österreichische Schule und ihre Bedeutung für die moderne Wirtschaftswissenschaft.” In Grüske 1996, 65–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2007. Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klausinger, Hansjoerg. 2006. “From Mises to Morgenstern: Austrian Economics During the Ständestaat”. The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 9(3): 25–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2011. “The Austrian School of Economics and its Global Impact”. In Global Austria, edited by Günter Bischof and Fritz Plasser, 99–116. s.l., s.l. Innsbruck and New Orleans: Innsbruck University Press/University of New Orleans Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leube, Kurt R. 1995. “Bemerkungen zur methodologischen Position der Österreichischen Schule der Nationalökonomie innerhalb der Sozialwissenschaften”. In Krise und Exodus: Österreichische Sozialwissenschaften in Mitteleuropa, edited by Kurt R. Leube and Andreas Pribersky, 23–37. Wien: WUV-Univ.-Verl.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2015. “Zur Entwicklung der Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Universität Wien von 1763 bis 1976”. In Reflexive Innensichten aus der Universität: Disziplinengeschichten zwischen Wissenschaft, Gesellschaft und Politik, edited by Karl Fröschl, Gerd B. Müller, Thomas Olechowski, and Brigitta Schmidt-Lauber, 341–354 650 Jahre Universität Wien – Aufbruch ins neue Jahrhundert; Bd. 4. Göttingen: V&R unipress.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1976. My Years with Ludwig von Mises. New Rochelle: Arlington House Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. (1949) 1998. Human Action: A Treatise on Economics. The Scholar’s Edition. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. (1969) 2003. The Historical Setting of the Austrian School of Economics. Online Edition. New Rochelle: Arlington House, Ludwig von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. (1940, 1978) 2009. Memoirs. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, Robert P., and Amadeus Gabriel. 2008. Study Guide to Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, Scholar’s Edition Ludwig Von Mises; [A Guided Tutorial of Ludwig Von Mises’s Classic Work]. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Inst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raico, Ralph. 2012. Classical Liberalism and the Austrian School. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2002. “The Rebirth of Austrian Economics – In the Light of Austrian Economics”. The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 5(4): 111–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulak, Eugen M., and Unterköfler. Herbert. 2011. The Austrian School of Economics: A History of Its Ideas, Ambassadors, and Institutions. Auburn: Ludwig von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Barry. 1986. “Austrian Economics and Austrian Philosophy”. In Austrian Economics – Historical and Philosophical Backgrounds, edited by Wolfgang Grassl and Barry Smith, 1–36. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1990. “The Question of Apriorism”. Austrian Economics Newsletter (Fall), 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1998. “Aristotelianism, Apriorism, Essentialism.” In Boettke 1998, 33–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streissler, Erich. 2002. “Wirtschaftliche Entscheidungstheorie als Angelpunkt der Österreichischen Schule der Nationalökonomie”. In Gesellschaft denken: Eine erkenntnistheoretische Standortbestimmung der Sozialwissenschaften, edited by Leonhard Bauer and Klaus Hamberger, 309–318 Politische Philosophie und Ökonomie. Wien: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Wilhelm. 1949. Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Wirtschaftspolitik in Österreich. Wien: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. (1977) 2003. The Methodology of the Austrian School of Economics. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Vienna, Wien, Austria

    Alexander Linsbichler

Authors
  1. Alexander Linsbichler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Linsbichler, A. (2017). Introduction: The Political Context of Mises’ Methodology. In: Was Ludwig von Mises a Conventionalist?. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46170-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46170-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46169-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46170-0

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation