ECONOMIST PAPERS

Series Three: Papers of Carl Menger, 1840-1921, from the William R. Perkins Library, Duke University

Part 1: Notebooks, Notes on Economic Principals and Notes on Money

Part 2: Lectures, Notes on Methodology, Correspondence, Biographical Materials and Micellanea and Printed Matter

Publisher's Note

"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 & London, 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

"The Austrian school has occupied an almost unique position in the development of economic science. This is entirely due to the foundations laid by this one man."

F A von Hayek, writing in 'Carl Menger', Economica NS 1 (4) pp393-420, 1934

"The founder of the Austrian school of marginal analysis whose international influence was wider than that of his co-discoverers.... He was also the initiator and a major participant in the 'Methodenstreit' with the German Historical School."

Mark Blaug, writing in Who's Who in Economics, Brighton, 1986

1871 is widely regarded as the beginning of the modern period in the development of economics. It marks the publication date of Menger's Grundsätze (Principles of Economics) and also of William Stanley Jevons' The Theory of Political Economy. Together with Léon 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 aggressive disciples such as Wieser and Böhm-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 über die Methode der Socialwissenschaften, und der Politischen Œkonomie 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, 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 ice-berg 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 and thanks to the attentions of Karl Menger (the son of the economist), Eve L Menger (his grand-daughter, who donated them to Duke University in 1987), von Hayek, Albert Zlabinger and the Special Collections staff of Duke University the manuscripts are now in good order and ready for examination. They include:

62 Notebooks, 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, constituting Part 1, Reels 9-16, describe the evolution of his thoughts concerning value, human demand, need, capital, production, interest, property and ownership. This includes notes on Grundsätze, Güter Wesen, Wirtschaft, Bedürfnisse, Tauschandel, Theorie der Preises, Einkommen and Böhm's Capitalzintheorie.

Notes on Money, c 1890's-1919. 37 folders of loose manuscripts, constituting Part 1, Reels 17-21, containing 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 Grundsätze (1923) and there are revisions of Carl Menger's article on money in the second and third editions of Handwörterbuch 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. These appear as Part 2, Reel 22.

Notes on Methodology, 1860's-1919. 48 folders of loose manuscripts, forming Part 2, Reels 22-30, primarily concerning 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 Irrthümer des Historismus in der Deutschen Nationalökonomie (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) & Realism (Inductive reasoning/generalisation and hypothesis), disputes with Wundt, Causality, Free Will, and Value judgments.

Correspondence, 1863-1920 and 1914-1985. Over 150 letters to Carl Menger make up Part 2, Reel 31. These include letters from Böhm-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 make up Part 2, Reel 32. These include letters from von Hayek, Mises, Morgenstern, and Schumpeter, about the second edition of Grundsätze, Karl Menger's work on the Austrian School and other topics.

Biographical Materials, 1840-1934, together with Related Family Material, constitutes Part 2, Reels 33-34. It includes 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 (used for the 1934 LSE edition of Carl Menger's works); honours (including the Iron Cross, III class, 1876); newsclippings; photographs; some writings of his brothers Anton and Max; Max Menger's diary, 1861-1870; and various items relating to Karl.

Miscellanea. Making Part 2, Reel 35, 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; Notes on university life; and various early writings.

Printed Matter. Making Part 2, Reels 36-42, this section includes some of the most important material in the collection. After a reel of newsclippings (reviews and articles by Menger and reviews of his works), there are heavily annotated copies of Grundsätze (Reels 37-38) and Untersuchungen.... (Reels 39-40) 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 Grundsätze was based on these, scholars will wish to consult these volumes for themselves. Also featured are copies of Irrthümer des Historismus with revisions by the author and copies of articles by Menger and his disciples on currency reform, rent, price and labour.

One of the main conclusions of a conference held on Carl Menger & His Legacy in Economics at Duke University (proceedings published in 1990) was that Carl Menger deserves to receive more critical attention. The publication of his manuscripts makes that possible and opens up a vast range of potential research topics for scholars in the social sciences.

One scholar who has worked with the papers, Kiichiro Yagi of Kyoto University, speaks of his excitement at working through the Notebooks:

"Looking into the notebooks of 1867-68 one has the impression that Menger plunged into the heap of economic literature from the beginning with an idea, though still vague, of his own value theory in mind. Most pages of the 25 notebooks are occupied by excerpts and summaries made from a wide range of Literature relating to the theory and concepts of economics. However, Menger, tried to formulate his own theoretical position in several places. The first formulation of his value theory appeared in the second notebook dated September 18 [1867]."

Together with the loose manuscripts, lectures and annotated printed matter, these notebooks facilitate a thorough examination of the ideas that helped to revolutionise economic theory and the methodology of the social sciences. They are vital for any understanding of the Austrian School of Economics, the German Historical School and the intellectual climate in Vienna at the turn of the century.

<back