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Ludwig Lachmann and the Austrians

Including a Symposium on Ludwig Lachmann

ISBN: 978-1-78769-862-8, eISBN: 978-1-78769-861-1

Publication date: 19 August 2019

Abstract

Ludwig Lachmann looked to the Austrian School of economics as an intellectual space of refuge from the sterile formalism that constituted the academic work of the mainstream economics establishment. From an early interest in capital theory, he moved to broader epistemological, methodological, and institutional concerns – specifically from the subjectivism of values to the subjectivism of expectations and the implications thereof for human action. Human action in disequilibrium was his central focus. This chapter examines the relationship of Lachmann’s views to the Austrians, those who preceded him, those of his time, and those who have come after him. During his lifetime, his views sometimes provoked controversy. I examine this from the perspective of 2017 and the concerns of the modern Austrian intellectual community and find that Lachmann’s views are surprisingly much more complementary to those of his contemporary Austrians than have perhaps hitherto been realized.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I owe a large debt to very helpful discussions with Bill Tulloh on a number of important points. The usual disclaimer applies.

Citation

Lewin, P. (2019), "Ludwig Lachmann and the Austrians", Including a Symposium on Ludwig Lachmann (Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, Vol. 37B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 55-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0743-41542019000037B007

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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