Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900): Economy and Society (The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences)

Until now, Friedrich Nietzsche’s influence on the development of modern social sciences has not been well documented. This volume reconsiders some of Nietzsche’s writings on economics and the science of state and in doing so pioneers a line of research not previously available in English. Here, twelve scholars consider Nietzsche’s historical and contemporary relevance, which has ranged from the highly serious (Schumpeter writings on creative destruction) to the pop cultural (the early works of Ayn Rand). Several papers present strong evidence of Nietzsche as an influencer of modern economists; others see him more as an influencer of influencers; and one sees little influence at all. Most of the contributions refer extensively to works previous unpublished (or poorly translated) in English. The editors do not intend to present a thorough overview or definitive description of Nietzsche’s place in economics. Rather, they hope to initiate conversations and research that explore the role this much misunderstood philosopher/cultural critic may have played, or perhaps should play, in the history of economic thought. Nietzsche – Economy and Society: The Closed and the Open Questions a b Jürgen G. Backhaus and Wolfgang Drechsler a University of Erfurt, Germany b Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia Nietzsche’s impact and in?uence anywhere in and on our civilization was and is immense. This has by now been widely recognized in almost all areas, even in the “hard sciences” (see Babich 1999), but Nietzsche is still completely understudied in the ?eld of economics. This is all the more surprising because in?uence paths, both serious (e. g. , Joseph A. Schumpeter) and pop ones (e. g. , Ayn Rand), seem obvious, and because in some of his works, especially M- schliches, Allzumenschliches (1878-1886), a focus on economics is hard to miss. It would thus be only likely that he had some sort of signi?cant in?uence there; yet, one can ?nd hardly any references in the Nietzsche or economics 1 literature on what kind of in?uence that might have been or still is. To remedy this situation, the idea to plan an exploratory conference on Nietzsche and Economics arose. Because of the dif?cult and indeed unusual topic, we found it necessary to even start with a pre-conference, where the issues, questions, sources and possible approaches would be discussed. This pre-conference took place in Heilbronn, in the framework of the Heilbronn Symposia on Economics and the Social Sciences, in June 2000. Friedrich Nietzsche And Economics : Research Problems / Wolfgang Drechsler -- The Influence Of Nietzsche On The History Of Economic Thought / Peter R. Senn -- Nietzsche And Economics / Marcel A.g. Van Meerhaeghe -- Creative Destruction In Economics : Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter / Hugo Reinert And Erik S. Reinert -- The Word Of Honour / Jürgen G. Backhaus -- An 'all Too Human' Question : Nietzsche, Die Soziale Frage, And The German Historical School Of Economics / Sophus A. Reinert And Erik S. Reinert -- Nietzsche And Business Ethics / Marcel A.g. Van Meerhaeghe -- On The Anticipation Of Knightian Uncertainty In Nietzsche's Genealogy Of Morals / Stephen John Nash -- On The Nietzsche-reception In The Gdr / Ulrich B. Busch -- Wolfgang Harich And Friedrich Nietzsche : A Chapter Of The East German Nietzsche Debate / Günter Krause -- Justice And Economy From Human, All Too Human To Thus Spake Zarathustra / Rainer Kattel -- Democracy And Aristocracy In Nietzsche's Late Writings / Otto Kaiser. Edited By Jürgen G. Backhaus And Wolfgang Drechsler. Revised Papers From A Conference Held In Venice In Jan. 2001. Includes Bibliographical References. Table of Contents......Page 7 Preface ......Page 9 1. Friedrich Nietzsche and Economics: Research Problems......Page 12 2. The In.uence of Nietzsche on the History of Economic Thought......Page 20 3. Nietzsche and Economics*......Page 49 4. Creative Destruction in Economics: Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter......Page 64 5. The Word of Honour......Page 95 6. An “All too Human” Question: Nietzsche, Die Soziale Frage, and the German Historical School of Economics......Page 118 7. Nietzsche and Business Ethics*......Page 143 8. On the Anticipation of Knightian Uncertainty in Nietzsche’s......Page 150 9. On the Nietzsche-Reception in the GDR......Page 177 10. Wolfgang Harich and Friedrich Nietzsche – A Chapter of the East German Nietzsche Debate......Page 194 to Thus Spake Zarathustra......Page 211 12. Democracy and Aristocracy in Nietzsche’s Late Writings......Page 230 Friedrich Nietzsche's influence on the development of modern social sciences has not been well documented. This volume reconsiders some of Nietzsche's writings on economics and the science of state, pioneering a line of research up to now unavailable in English. The authors intend to provoke conversation and inspire research on the role that this much misunderstood philosopher and cultural critic has played – or should play – in the history of economics.