Freedom and Economic Power: Neglected Aspects of Walter Eucken′s Work

Abstract

Argues that different elements in Eucken′s work have had insufficient attention in post‐war Germany, in science as well as in political practice. In Eucken′s thinking, order (especially order in the economic and political field and the interconnection between them) is the central concept. In politics, insufficient attention was paid to the interdependence between the different orders, and the balance of freedom and power. Politics was characterized by pragmatism. A principal decision in favour of the Wettbewerbsordnung (an economic order based on competition), advocated by Eucken, was never made. This was expressed in insufficient fighting against the formation of economic power (competition policy) and in a neglect of the environment. Compares the social philosophies of Eucken and Hayek.

Citation

Oswalt‐Eucken, I. (1994), "Freedom and Economic Power: Neglected Aspects of Walter Eucken′s Work", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443589410070770