ECONOMISTS’ PAPERS
Series Three: The Papers of Carl Menger, 1840-1921,
from the William R Perkins Library, Duke University
Part 1: Notebooks, Notes on Economic Principles & Notes on Money
"Carl Menger was undoubtedly one of the most influential economists of all time. As he was a member of the founding trinity of neo-classical economics and founder of the Austrian school of economics, his ideas ... have significantly shaped the economic thought of the twentieth century."
Max Alter, writing in Carl Menger & His Legacy in Economics, Durham,1990
"His name will be forever linked with a new explanatory principle which has revolutionised the whole field of economic theory ... Menger belongs to those who have demolished the existing structure of a science and put it on entirely new foundations."
Joseph A Schumpeter, writing in Ten Great Economists, London, 1951
1871 is widely regarded as the beginning of the modern period in the development of economics. It marks the publication date of Menger's Grundstze (Principles of Economics) and also of William Stanley Jevons' The Theory of Political Economy. Together with Lon Walras' Elements of Pure Economics (1874) these works swept away the existing structures of economic thought and replaced them with a new theory of value based on the principle of Marginal Analysis. Put simply, the value of goods bears a direct relation to the need that people have for them and their scarcity in the market. There is no doubt that all three authors developed their ideas independently. Nor is there any doubt that Menger's influence has been far more widespread. There are perhaps three main reasons for this.
Firstly, it is due to the support Menger gained from an organised cohort of disciples such as Wieser and Bhm-Bawerk who defended, refined and developed his ideas, building an Austrian School of Economics to rival the Cambridge School under Marshall.
Secondly, because Menger's second major published work extended his influence. His Untersuchungen ber die Methode der Socialwissenschaften, und der Politischen Okonomie insbesondere (Investigations into the Method of the Social Sciences with Special Reference to Economics) (1883) argued for a new 'compositive' method of analysing society and precipitated the Methodenstreit with the younger German Historical School.
Thirdly, because his work on monetary economics (in both an official and academic capacity) laid the basis for subsequent work by Ludwig von Mises and the Monetarist School.
All three strands are documented extensively in this major microfilm collection and it should be realised that Menger's published work was merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of the notes and analysis that he prepared to back up his theories.
Friedrich von Hayek was aware that "much more ... remains in the form of voluminous but fragmentary and disordered manuscripts" (writing in 1934, in Economica NS 1 (4), pp393-420) and that these would repay the attention of future economists and economic historians. It is these manuscripts that are now made available. They include:
- 62 Notebooks covering 1867-1868, 1870, 1899 and 1909-1920
Approximately two thirds are his reading notes (excerpts from works on political economy, definitions of economic terms, philosophy, the social sciences, and the nature of science) and one third are his own ideas and responses. These make up Part 1, Reels 1-8, and are an indispensable source for understanding Menger's economic and sociological theories. They also enable us to understand the intellectual undercurrents of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that influenced scholars working in and developing the social sciences.
- Notes on Economic Principles, c.1870-1919.
71 folders of loose manuscripts describe the evolution of his thoughts concerning value, human demand, need, capital, production, interest, property and ownership. This includes notes on Grundstze, Gter Wesen, Wirtschaft, Bedrfnisse, Tauschandel, Theorie der Preises, Einkommen & Bhm's Capitalzintheorie.
- Notes on Money, c.1890s-1919.
37 folders of loose manuscripts contain his work on money, currency reform, monetary policy and the gold standard. Some of these manuscripts were used by his son Karl in the second edition of Grundstze (1923) and there are revisions of Carl Menger's article on money in the second and third editions of Handwrterbuch der Staatswissenschaften.
- Lectures, 1872 and c.1884-1894.
Featuring notes for his lectures on Die Theorie und Praxis des Bankwesens (first performance, 1872), notes for lectures on economics and other subjects from c.1884 to 1894, and a folder of student papers on capital.
- Notes on Methodology, 1860s-1919.
48 folders of loose manuscripts are primarily concerned with his views on methodology and the nature of the social sciences. There are substantial groups of manuscripts relating to his Untersuchungen, the Methodenstreit and the debates which followed, including notes for his Irrthmer des Historismus in der Deutschen Nationalkonomie (1884), Menger's reply to criticism by Gustav Schmoller. There are also notes on the French economy, classical economics, his Klassifikation der Wissenschaften, directions of research, positivism (deductive reasoning / empiricism) and realism (inductive reasoning / generalisation and hypothesis), disputes with Wundt, Causality, Free Will, and Value judgments.
- Correspondence, 1863-1920 and 1914-1985.
Featuring over 150 letters to Carl Menger including letters from Bhm-Bawerk (with some draft replies), Conrad, Philippovich, Sax and Wieser, concerning economics, professional matters, and his tutorship of Crown Prince Rudolf amongst other topics. A further group of letters to his brother Anton and, mainly, to his son Karl also feature, including letters from von Hayek, Mises, Morgenstern, and Schumpeter, about the second edition of Grundstze, Karl Menger's work on the Austrian School and other topics.
- Biographical Materials, 1840-1934.
These include an invaluable diary covering events from 1840 to 1894 by Carl Menger; transcriptions, notes and recollections by his son Karl; a biographical sketch by von Hayek and other items.
- Miscellanea.
This includes items as diverse as a catalogue of Carl Menger's library; notes on Austrian politics by Crown Prince Rudolf; notes on progressive income tax; and various early writings.
- Printed Matter.
This section includes some of the most important material in the collection. There are heavily annotated copies of Grundstze and Untersuchungen which are crucial to the understanding of these seminal works. It is known that in his last years Menger was working on a new interpretation of his earlier theories and whilst his son's second edition of the Grundstze was based on these, scholars will wish to consult these volumes for themselves.
One of the main conclusions of a conference held on Carl Menger & His Legacy in Economics (Duke University, Proceedings, 1990) was that Menger deserves more critical attention. The publication of his manuscripts makes that possible and opens up a vast range of potential research topics for scholars of economic history, the history of economic thought and in the social sciences.
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