Читать книгу The Historical School: From Friedrich List to the Social Market Economy - - Страница 3

What is truth? And how can it be attained? Especially when it comes to history, the history of economic development and especially the history of economic doctrines. In ancient times, when religion played an important role in human life, chroniclers who lived under rulers presented events from the standpoint of the interests of the ruler and the church. In the era of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the first scientific and technological revolution, there were works of a social nature that described the events and achievements of the rulers from the standpoint of the state and society, and the church receded into the background, although it continued to have a fairly active influence on people’s lives. Today the task of a researcher in the field of history of economic science is not only to search for the truth, but also to present it objectively and comprehensively, so that its study by researchers can be further developed, economic recommendations can be developed, and the economic policy of the state can be formed.

As noted Russian historian and historiographer Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky, it is necessary to find meaning in nonsense, it is in this unpleasant duty of the historian, and in an intelligent case to find meaning will be able to any philosopher.

Defining the meaning and usefulness of the study of history, a representative of the neo-Austrian school, economist Ludwig von Mises in his work «Theory and History: Interpretation of Socio-Economic Evolution, comparing his understanding of the tasks of history with the views of German historians, noted that the task of history – to record not all past events, but only historically significant. Therefore, it is necessary to find a criterion that would allow to filter what is historically significant from what is not. And, according to the representatives of the historical school, the study of history provides man with road signs that show him the path he should follow. Man can succeed only if his actions are in accordance with the tendencies of evolution. To discover these tendencies is the main task of history. The opinion of the representatives of the historical school seems to be more significant from the point of view of the realities of the 21st century, since there is still no one who has found the criteria that would allow to filter out what is historically significant from what is not. And should this be done? In this regard, the main task of the author of this monograph is to present materials related to the retrospective analysis of the emergence and development of economic thought in Germany, which went from the economic policy of the free cities, the «educational, national protectionism» of Friedrich List, to the ordoliberalism, to the ordo-liberalism of the second half of the twentieth century and the economic policy of modern Germany of the twenty-first century, with its successes and failures, in the context of the crisis of world migration, the coronavirus pandemic and the bacchanalia of sanctions against Russia, in which it is involved. The ideas of the historical school were, in fact, a product of the environment in which they were born, and gave roots to the formation of economic policy in Hitler’s Germany and post-war Germany, and gave quite significant sprouts in tsarist Russia (it is enough to recall the economic policy of S.Y. Witte).

Also in 1956 in West Germany was published the book «Welfare for All» by the German professor and politician Ludwig Erhard, which was a great success among readers. This book, which was published in Russia in 1991 (the first reprint in Russian was published in Germany in 1960), became a bestseller in our country, although it was undeservedly forgotten a few years later. The experiences and ideas contained in it would be very interesting for our reforms. Its author, Ludwig Erhard, this remarkable scientist, was fortunate to successfully realize his scientific thoughts and ideas as Minister of National Economy, Vice-Chancellor and then Chancellor of West Germany (1963—1966).

In the ten years after the war, West Germany not only rebuilt its shattered economy, but also allowed the world to speak of its economy as the «German miracle». And today, unified Germany consistently occupies one of the leading places in the ranking of the world’s wealthiest democracies, overcoming the difficulties of modern conditions of world economic relations. However, few people today remember the «German miracle» and its author.

As mentioned above, Germany is one of the most successful countries in the world today. What makes it successful and stable? – The social market economy, which was created by L. Erhard and his team, who had the rare opportunity to try out their strategy day by day for ten years after the war, to test it in practice, and to be convinced of its correctness. The «spiritual father» of this social market economy is rightly considered another bright German scientist Walter Oiken, the founder of an independent branch of modern neoliberalism – ordoliberalism and the «Freiburg School», a disciple of Werner Sombart, no less bright representative of the social-psychological direction of the historical school of Germany.

It should also be noted that post-war Germany condemned and rethought its past associated with nationalism, «state socialism,» totalitarianism, and fascism, with which it had flirted for almost a century, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, when the theories of «national protectionism» and «state socialism,» revolutionary Marxism, and Bernsteinite social reformism began to emerge on German soil. The threads of all these theories can be connected with the greatest phenomenon of economic thought in Germany in the nineteenth century – the historical school and the legacy of Friedrich List, the retrospective analysis of which and the formation of models of state regulation of the economy are offered to the attention of readers interested in the problems of economic theory, state regulation of the economy, economic history and economic thought. As is known, the history of any science is personified. Ideas, concepts, theories are the result of thinking activity of the best minds, aimed at understanding the past, understanding the present and looking into the future. When we study the history of economics, we study the theories and recommendations of certain people who lived in the conditions of a certain place and time.

However, we should not forget that the emergence of such or such views and concepts is always closely connected with the processes that take place in society, with objective conditions, needs and interests of living economic practice.

Among the economists associated with the development of the historical school and the formation of the model of state regulation of the economy, it is necessary to emphasize the German economists F. List, B. Hildebrand, G. Schmoller, W. Sombart, M. Weber, L. Erhard, from the Russian – S. Y. Witte, I. M. Kulisher, D. I. Mendeleev, V. V. Svyatlovsky and a number of others, on whose works the author has relied as primary sources in this study. Among the basic textbooks on the history of the world economy used by the author, it is necessary to mention the textbooks edited by A.N. Markova, on the economic history of the world by M.V. Konotopov, on the history of economic doctrines by V.S. Avtonomov, A.G. Khudokormov, E.M. Maiburd, G.D. Glovely, French economists S. Gide and S. Rist, A. Espinas, English economists M. Blaug, L. Robbins, American economist and historian B. Seligman, Austro-English economist and historian J.A. Schumpeter and German historian F. Mehring. In the analysis of the economic situation in Germany at different periods of its history, the author also used the works of the representatives of the historical school and her own work «History of economics and economic doctrines in a summary of key events».

I want to be honest, to find the truth, no matter how «ugly» it is, when studying this period of German economic history. Without the truth we will not be able to evaluate what is happening in our country, in Europe and in the world. It is a pity that people (especially those in power) have a very short or selective memory, as the events of recent years have shown, and this does not allow them to be objective in assessing what is happening. The search for truth in any field of scientific knowledge is possible only thanks to a comprehensive historical understanding of the subject of research. After all, it is thanks to many German scientists that in the last two hundred years most of the discoveries in the field of archaeology and history have been made, the ancient world and especially the East, thanks to the development of the German historical school, economics has received a number of brilliant works on economic history, industry, statistics, branch economics and other areas of economic and historical science. It was the development of the historical school that led to the post-war «economic miracle» in Germany.

In modern conditions all countries are looking for the way of crisis-free development, stability and efficiency of the economy, the way of higher standard of living, and some of them create socially oriented market economy, but most of the states, developing even under market conditions, by many indicators lag behind the successful countries. Knowledge of the history of economics and economic doctrines allows to see the advantages and disadvantages of different models, to choose the way of development, to formulate the economic policy of the state, methods and mechanisms of state regulation of the economy from the experience of market economy mechanism accumulated by civilizations. The experience of work in educational organizations allows us to assert that all established modern economic theories and models of economic development are the result of the development of economic thought and doctrines, the result of the long formation of economic science. The course «History of economics and economic doctrines», which the author read for many years, also allows us to testify that the ideas of List and representatives of the historical school of Germany undeservedly «faded» next to the Anglo-American theories of economic freedom, liberalism and fritrade, presented in modern textbooks of economic theory and history of economic doctrines.

The pace of development of countries is different and depends on the effectiveness of economic policy and economic management, and the effectiveness in turn depends on the culture of people, their national characteristics, natural intelligence, diligence, self-discipline. It took more than a millennium for mankind to come to modern economic conditions and to understand the importance of rational (efficient) use of resources (the wealth of nature) to satisfy the ever-growing needs. What will be the challenges and especially the consequences of digital economy, information warfare and cyber technologies?

Once upon a time, Marxists and Bolsheviks were accused of «exporting revolution». Today, the U.S. can be accused of «exporting democracy,» as it is very active in «helping» countries establish democracy. NATO’s borders in recent decades have come close to Russia’s borders, where missile defense installations are now located. It is high time to remind once again the desire of the author of these lines that if the USA is a truly democratic country, is it not time for it to contribute to the liquidation of NATO, which the author has repeatedly proposed in her articles since 2009, and to create another institution (international organization) with a new content and tasks, in order to preserve peace on the whole earth and for all earthlings.

And in these new conditions it is necessary to become objectively familiar with various alternative doctrines of economic theory, one of which is the historical school of Germany and its followers.

This monograph attempts to outline the relationship from the great Liszt to the social market economy policies of modern Germany, and to connect Germany’s successes with the ability to be properly guided by the legacy of scientific thought in political economy and the economic teachings of German political economists who stood at the origins of West German neoliberalism (ordoliberalism).

The monograph includes a brief chronological guide, an index of names, a glossary of terms and concepts, as well as structural and logical schemes that complement the main text and a bibliographic list of literature and primary sources used by the author.