FOLIO I · THINKER · GEN. 02 · N° 002

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

Works
20
Articles
23
Generation
2.
Portrait of Eugen von Böhm-BawerkPortrait of Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: Frühe Aufnahme Böhm-Bawerks, um 1890 (1890)
FOL. 02 · N° 002 · Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
BIOGRAPHY

Life and Work

Böhm-Bawerk's influence proved especially lasting. With his Positive Theory of Capital (1889) he not only laid the foundations for an "Austrian" theory of capital and interest, but also contributed decisively to the international reputation of the Austrian School. He became one of the most discussed and most cited economists of his time. For the further development of the Austrian School, History and Critique of Interest Theories (1884) would prove formative above all in two respects: first, Böhm-Bawerk subjected the socialist labour theory of value of Karl Marx (1818–1883) to a detailed and consistently dismissive critique, and so laid the cornerstone for the Austrian School's tradition of criticism of Marxism. Second, he rejected Carl Menger's use theory, according to which the return on capital is a fee for granting the use of capital. In the end, no notable economist followed Böhm-Bawerk entirely. Yet his conception exerted an unusually stimulating and fruitful influence over decades.
Metadata
12. Februar 1851
in Brünn, Mähren
27. August 1914
Generation 2
The Podcast

The episode on Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk in audio: the life, the one idea, the most famous argument, and which work to read first. About 15 minutes.

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Life stations

Stations

  1. 1851
    1851
    Birth

    Born on 12 February 1851 in Brünn (today Brno), Moravia.[1]

  2. ⁦1868–1872⁩
    ⁦1868–1872⁩
    Studies in Law and Political Science

    Studies in law and political science at the University of Vienna.[8]

  3. ⁦1872–1880⁩
    ⁦1872–1880⁩
    Lower Austrian Finanzprokuratur (Treasury Solicitor's Office)

    Civil servant in the Lower Austrian Finanzprokuratur (Treasury Solicitor's Office) from 1872. In parallel, study leave in Heidelberg, Leipzig and Jena with Knies, Roscher and Hildebrand.[1]

  4. 1875
    1875
    Doctorate in Law (Dr. jur.)

    Doctorate in law at the University of Vienna.[9]

  5. 1880
    1880
    Habilitation in Economics

    Habilitation as a Privatdozent in economics at the University of Vienna.[1]

  6. 1880
    1880
    Marriage to Paula von Wieser

    Marriage to Paula von Wieser, sister of Friedrich von Wieser, making him the brother-in-law of his long-time associate.[8]

  7. ⁦1881–1884⁩
    ⁦1881–1884⁩
    Associate Professor, Innsbruck

    Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Innsbruck.[1]

  8. 1884
    1884
    "History and Critique of Interest Theories"

    Publication of "History and Critique of Interest Theories" as the first volume of "Capital and Interest"; with a detailed critique of Marx's labour theory of value and a rejection of Menger's theory of uses.[1]

  9. ⁦1884–1889⁩
    ⁦1884–1889⁩
    Full Professor, Innsbruck

    Full Professor at the University of Innsbruck until 1889.[1]

  10. 1889
    1889
    "Positive Theory of Capital"

    Publication of "Positive Theory of Capital" as the second volume of "Capital and Interest"; the foundation of an "Austrian" theory of capital and interest and a decisive contribution to the international reputation of the Austrian School.[1]

  11. 1889
    1889
    Ministerialrat at the Ministry of Finance

    Move to the Vienna Ministry of Finance as Ministerialrat (senior ministerial counsellor); later Sektionschef (head of department).[15]

  12. 1895
    1895
    Minister of Finance (1st Term)

    First term as k. k. (Imperial-Royal) Minister of Finance.[1]

  13. ⁦1897–1898⁩
    ⁦1897–1898⁩
    Minister of Finance (2nd Term)

    Second term as k. k. Minister of Finance in 1897/98.[1]

  14. 1899
    1899
    Member of the Herrenhaus (House of Lords)— approximate

    Appointment to the Austrian Herrenhaus (House of Lords).[13]

  15. ⁦1900–1904⁩
    ⁦1900–1904⁩
    Minister of Finance (3rd Term)

    Third and longest term as k. k. Minister of Finance.[1]

  16. ⁦1904–1914⁩
    ⁦1904–1914⁩
    Chair of Political Economy, University of Vienna

    Full professor of political economy at the University of Vienna until his death in 1914. His private seminar shaped, among others, Mises, Schumpeter and Otto Bauer.[1]

  17. ⁦1907–1911⁩
    ⁦1907–1911⁩
    Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences

    Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna.[1]

  18. ⁦1911–1914⁩
    ⁦1911–1914⁩
    President of the Academy of Sciences

    President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna until his death.[1]

  19. 1914
    1914
    Death

    Died on 27 August 1914 in Kramsach, Tyrol.[1]

Relationships

Influences

Influenced by · 3
  1. ⁦1876–1878⁩
    ⁦1876–1878⁩
    Bruno Hildebrand⁦(1812–1878)⁩ · Ältere Historische Schule

    Studied under Bruno Hildebrand in Jena from 1876 to 1878.[16]

  2. ⁦1876–1878⁩
    ⁦1876–1878⁩
    Karl Knies⁦(1821–1898)⁩ · Ältere Historische Schule

    Studied from 1876 to 1878 under Karl Knies in Heidelberg during a journey abroad.[16]

  3. ⁦1876–1878⁩
    ⁦1876–1878⁩
    Wilhelm Roscher⁦(1817–1894)⁩ · Ältere Historische Schule

    Studied together with Wieser under Wilhelm Roscher in Leipzig from 1876 to 1878.[16]

Influenced · 13
  1. ⁦1884–1896⁩
    ⁦1884–1896⁩
    Karl Marx⁦(1818–1883)⁩ · Marxismus

    Subjected Karl Marx's socialist labour theory of value, in “Die Geschichte und Kritik der Kapitalzinstheorien” (1884), to a detailed and consistently dismissive critique, thereby laying the cornerstone of the Austrian School's tradition of Marxism criticism.[1]

  2. ⁦1889–1889⁩
    ⁦1889–1889⁩

    Studied law at the University of Innsbruck in 1884-1887, among others under Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk; at that time Böhm-Bawerk was a professor in Innsbruck.[2]

  3. ⁦1900–1906⁩
    ⁦1900–1906⁩

    Studied under Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk and took part in his seminar at the University of Vienna; together with Menger one of the formative teachers for Mises' turn to the Austrian School.[9]

  4. ⁦1901–1906⁩
    ⁦1901–1906⁩

    Wandte sich während des Studiums in Wien unter dem Einfluss Eugen von Böhm-Bawerks vor allem der Nationalökonomie zu; Böhm-Bawerk war einer der prägenden akademischen Lehrer der Wiener Studienzeit.[3]

  5. ⁦1903–1909⁩
    ⁦1903–1909⁩

    After his doctorate he devoted himself, on the side, to Böhm-Bawerk's theory of interest, edited the shorter writings of the revered Böhm-Bawerk, and in his Habilitation thesis renewed and broadened the critique of David Ricardo.[18]

  6. ⁦1905–1906⁩
    ⁦1905–1906⁩
    Otto Bauer⁦(1881–1938)⁩ · Austromarxismus

    Otto Bauer nahm als Marxist am Privatseminar Böhm-Bawerks 1905-06 an der Universität Wien teil – eine seltene Gelegenheit der direkten Konfrontation zwischen österreichischer Schule und Austromarxismus.

  7. ⁦1905–1914⁩
    ⁦1905–1914⁩
    Otto Neurath⁦(1882–1945)⁩ · Wiener Kreis

    Otto Neurath, later a philosopher of the Vienna Circle, was among Böhm-Bawerk's students.[14]

  8. ⁦1905–1906⁩
    ⁦1905–1906⁩
    Rudolf Hilferding⁦(1877–1941)⁩ · Austromarxismus

    Rudolf Hilferding, a prominent Marxist, attended Böhm-Bawerk's private seminar in Vienna in 1905-06.[19]

  9. ⁦1908–1914⁩
    ⁦1908–1914⁩

    Studied and took his doctorate in 1914 at the University of Vienna under Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk; dissertation on the monetary and credit economy with a mathematical approach.

  10. ⁦1909–1914⁩
    ⁦1909–1914⁩

    Wurde als sehr junger Student in Eugen von Böhm-Bawerks Privatseminar an der Universität Wien aufgenommen; mises.org bezeichnet Strigl als „einen der jüngsten Böhm-Bawerk-Schüler".[12]

  11. Henryk Grossmann⁦(1881–1950)⁩ · Marxismus

    Henryk Grossmann zählt laut Wikipedia EN-Infobox zu Böhm-Bawerks „notable students“.

  12. Student of Eugen Böhm-Bawerk during the latter's teaching in Innsbruck; on this basis he received the venia legendi in economics in 1889 and turned to the marginal-utility school.[5]

  13. John Bates Clark⁦(1847–1938)⁩ · US-Grenzproduktivitätsschule

    Engaged in a famous debate with the American economist John B. Clark over capital maintenance and the period of production.[9]

Private seminar, colleagues, Mont Pèlerin · 7
  1. ⁦1872–1914⁩
    ⁦1872–1914⁩

    Wieser and Böhm-Bawerk were friends from youth and fellow students at the University of Vienna, and at the same time brothers-in-law; in 1880 Böhm-Bawerk married Wieser's sister Paula. The relationship was thus, in more than one respect, a lifelong companion.[9]

  2. ⁦1892–1897⁩
    ⁦1892–1897⁩

    In 1892 became Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk's successor as full professor at the University of Innsbruck; institutional continuity of the chair in the spirit of the Austrian School.[7]

  3. ⁦1895–1908⁩
    ⁦1895–1908⁩

    Als Privatdozent (1895–1908) und ab Oktober 1898 Ordinarius für politische Ökonomie an der k.k. Exportakademie im Palais Festetics gehörte Feilbogen zur engen Wiener Nationalökonomen-Szene um Böhm-Bawerk, Wieser und Philippovich. Die Mit-Übersetzung des Capitalzins-Anhangs 1903 setzt direkten Arbeitskontakt voraus.

  4. ⁦1895–1897⁩
    ⁦1895–1897⁩

    Sieghart diente ab 1894 im k.k. Finanzministerium, in dessen Steuerreform-Arbeit Böhm-Bawerk die treibende Kraft war, und wechselte 1897 ins Ministerratspräsidium — der Beginn seines Aufstiegs unter Körber (NDB Bd. 24, 2010, S. 353 f.).

  5. ⁦1905–1906⁩
    ⁦1905–1906⁩

    Schumpeter besuchte Böhm-Bawerks berühmtes Privatseminar an der Universität Wien gemeinsam mit dem jungen Mises (Aufgabenhinweis Pipeline-Briefing).

  6. ⁦1909–1914⁩
    ⁦1909–1914⁩

    Strigl wurde als sehr junger Student in Böhm-Bawerks Wiener Privatseminar aufgenommen – Mit-Teilnehmer waren u. a. Otto Bauer, Nikolai Bucharin, Ludwig von Mises, Otto Neurath und Joseph Schumpeter.[12]

  7. As a subjectivist value theorist, together with Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk as the senior official in charge, he put progressive taxation into practice in the reform of the direct personal tax.

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk in the context of the School as a whole: five generations, their teacher-student lineages, circles and collegial ties.

SOURCES ON STATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS47 citations · 7 sources
  • [13]Weiss (Hrsg.) 1924: Boehm-Bawerk Gesammelte Schriften, Bd. 2 (Vorwort)
Topography

Places of Activity

CATALOGUE OF WORKS · CHRONOLOGICAL

The Books

1880s
1881
Rechte und Verhältnisse vom Standpunkt der volkswirtschaftlichen Güterlehre PZX6DVT9 ACAPS4XD
OriginalGerman
Rechte und Verhältnisse vom Standpunkte der volkswirthschaftlichen Güterlehre
OriginalGerman
1884
Kapital und Kapitalzins I: Geschichte und Kritik der Kapitalzinstheorien
OriginalGerman
Further editions
  • Capital and Interest: A Critical History of Economical Theory
    OriginalEnglish
1886
Positive Theorie des Kapitales
OriginalGerman
1889
Kapital und Kapitalzins II: Positive Theorie des Kapitals
OriginalGerman
Further editions
  • The Positive Theory of Capital
    OriginalEnglish
1890s
1894
The ultimate standard of value
OriginalEnglish
1896
In this polemic, published in 1896, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk examines whether the posthumously published third volume of Marx's Capital resolves the contradiction announced in the first volume: that goods exchange according to the labour embodied in them, while capitals of equal size yield equal profit. Böhm-Bawerk first reviews the Marxian theory of value and surplus value as well as the theory of prices of production, then dissects four arguments by which Marx asserts the continued validity of the law of value, and concludes that the third volume disavows the first. In the fourth section he traces the error to a purely dialectical derivation of the labour theory of value, cut off from experience and psychological analysis. A closing section engages critically with Werner Sombart's attempt at rescue, which interprets Marxian value as a mere conceptual fact.
Further editions
  • Karl Marx and the Close of His System
    OriginalEnglish
1900s
1903
Recent Literature on Interest
OriginalEnglish
1920s
1921
KAPITAL UND KAPITALZINS. 2. Abteilung Positive Theorie des Kapitales
OriginalGerman
1926
KLEINERE ABHANDLUNGEN ÜBER KAPITAL UND ZINS. Der gesammelten Schriften
OriginalGerman
1930s
1932
Grundzüge der Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Güterwerts
OriginalGerman
1960s
1968
Gesammelte Schriften 1
OriginalGerman
Gesammelte Schriften 2 Kleinere Abhandlungen
OriginalGerman
1970s
1974
Die Marx Kritik der österreichischen Schule der Nationalökonomie
OriginalGerman
1980s
1984
Karl Marx and the close of his system
OriginalEnglish
1990s
1990
Einige strittige Fragen der Capitalstheorie
OriginalGerman
2010s
2016
Basic Principles of Economic Value
OriginalEnglish
ARTICLES · 23 CATALOGUED

Essays, Reviews, Lectures

1880s
1886
Grundzüge der Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Güterwerts
OriginalGerman
Nachteilige Wirkungen des freien Wettbewerbs, in Grundzüge der Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Güterwerts
OriginalGerman
Tauschwert und Preis, in Grundzüge der Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Güterwertes
OriginalGerman
Wahres und Falsches am Gesetz von Angebot und Nachfrage
OriginalGerman
1889
Die klassischen Nationalökonomie, in Göttingischen Gelehrten Anzeigen
OriginalGerman
1890s
1891
Die österreichische Schule
OriginalGerman
1892
Unsere Aufgaben, in Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung
OriginalGerman
1894
Der letzte Massstab des Güterwertes, in Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung
OriginalGerman
1895
Der Ursprung des Kapitalzinses, ursprünglich in Quarterly Journal of Economics
OriginalEnglish
Die Positive Theorie des Kapitals und ihre Kritiker, ursprünglich in Quarterly Journal of Economics
OriginalEnglish
1896
Historische und theoretische Nationalökonomie, in Jahrbüchern für Nationalökonomie und Statistik
OriginalGerman
Zum Abschluss des Marxschen Systems, in Staatwissenschaftlichen Arbeiten
OriginalGerman
1898
Kostenwert und Nutzwert, in Zur theoretischen Nationalökonomie der letzten Jahre
OriginalGerman
Vom Gegenstand der Wertlehre, in Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung
OriginalGerman
1899
Einige strittige Fragen der Kapitalstheorie, in Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung
OriginalGerman
1900s
1901
Wesen und Bedeutung des Sparens, in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
OriginalEnglish
1907
Professor Clarks Lehren über Kapital und Kapitalzins, in Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft, Sozialpolitik und Verwaltung
OriginalGerman
1910s
1910
Kapital, in Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften
OriginalGerman
1911
Zins, in Handwörterbuch der Staatswissenschaften
OriginalGerman
1912
Einige nicht neue Bemerkungen über eine alte Frage, in Revue Internationale de Sociologie
OriginalFrench
1913
Macht oder ökonomisches Gesetz?
OriginalGerman
1914
Unsere passive Handelsbilanzen, in Neuen Freien Presse
OriginalGerman
Unsere passiven Handelsbilanzen
OriginalGerman
APA
Chicago
German historical style