Gustav Schmoller's Historico-Ethical Political Economy : ethics, politics and economics in the younger German Historical School, 1860-1917

Abstract

Gustav Schmoller, the head of the younger Historical School of political economy in Imperial Germany, was characterized as the man who had brought about the ‘decisive turn’ towards Sozialpolitik and had given it a scientific basis. His holistic understanding of political economy became a tradition among German administrative bureaucracy. His economic doctorine must have been seen in the context of a comprehensive social theory linking an idealist statism with an ethical evolutionism against the background of an historicist world view. The paper critically discusses how Schmoller wanted to force these competing streams of thought and their influences among his contemporaries into a developmental model that would harmonize the radical social changes of his day.

Keywords:

• Gustav Schmoller Historical School Social Reform Moral Economy Institutional Economics