Essays In European Economic Thought

Essays in European Economic Thought Translated and Edited by LOUISE SOMMER D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY, INC. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY TORONTO LONDON NEW YORK D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY, INC. 120 Alexander St., Princeton, New Jersey (Principal office) 24 West 40 Street, New York 18, New York D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY, LTD. 358, Kensington High Street, London, W.I4, England D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY (Canada), LTD. 25 Hollinger Road, Toronto 16, Canada . Copyright, ©, 1960 by WILLIAM VOLKER FUND Published simultaneously in Canada by D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY (Canada), LTD. No reproduction in any form of this book, in whole or in part (except for brief quotation in critical articles or reviews), may be made without written authorization from the publishers. Library of Congress Catalogue Card No.: 60-15813 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Preface The present volume in the William Volker Fund Series in the Humane Studies brings together for the first time in English translation some of the most brilliant essays in economics written in Europe in the past decade. In the hope of furthering among the English-reading public a familiarity with the ideas of some of the modern masters of economics, the sponsors of this project have culled from the vast assortment of books and periodical articles that have appeared in this field in German, French, and Italian in the last three-quarters of a century the seven papers that comprise this collection. Each one of the authors represented here ranks among the most distinguished economists of his age, and each of these selections may truly be considered as one of the gems of postclassical economic thought. Some have been excerpted from larger works of which they formed a section or a preface, while others were originally conceived and written as independent articles, but all are complete in themselves. They are as various in the range of their subjects as they are in the style of their presentation. Taken together, they constitute a unique collection of important contributions to economic thought that have lasting merit and deserve to be made known in wider circles than they could reach in the languages in which they were originally written. It remains only to add that the translations provided by Dr. Louise Sommer faithfully reflect the clarity, precision, and elegance characteristic of each of the various authors' writing, and her scholarly notes should prove helpful in elucidating a number of points that the reader might otherwise have found obscure. ARTHUR GODDARD July, 1960 Table of Contents PAGE Preface v A Note on the Authors ix CHAPTER 1 2 TOWARD A SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF THE ECONOMIC SCIENCES, by CARL MENGER T H E THEORY OF URBAN GROUND RENT, by FRIEDRICH FREIHERR VON WIESER 3 1 39 A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF CURRENT DOCTRINES CONCERNING WAGE RATES AND UNIONISM, by LUDWIG POHLE 81 4 T H E NATIONALIZATION OF CREDIT, by LUDWIG VON MISES 106 5 T H E PLACE OF MATHEMATICAL REASONING IN ECONOMICS, by PAUL PAINLEVE 120 A LETTER TO THE ADVOCATES OF A CONTROLLED ECONOMY, by JACQUES RUEFF 133 T H E DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN AND THE THEORY OF THE ELITE IN THE WRITINGS OF FREDERIC LE PLAY, by LUIGI EINAUDI 162 INDEX 219 6 7 Vll A Note on the Authors (born 1874), statesman and economist, served from 1948 to 1955 as President of the Italian Republic. LUIGI EINAUDI (1840-1921) was the founder of the Austrian School of Economics. CAR