Hostname: page-component-6d856f89d9-vrt8f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T08:09:00.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Model Platonism: Neoclassical economic thought in critical light

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2012

DARRELL ARNOLD
Affiliation:
Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Global Studies, St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, FL, USA
FRANK MAIER-RIGAUD*
Affiliation:
IÉSEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS), Paris, France; OECD Competition Division, Paris, France; Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany

Abstract:

This article is a translation of the original German text of Hans Albert's 1963 article titled ‘Modell-Platonismus. Der neoklassische Stil des ökonomischen Denkens in kritischer Beleuchtung’, in F. Karrenberg and H. Albert (eds.), Sozialwissenschaft und Gesellschaftsgestaltung – Festschrift für Gerhard Weisser, Berlin: Duncker und Humblot, 45–76. The enduring relevance of Hans Albert's critique together with an introduction to the author as one of Germanys most distinguished philosophers of science can be found in Arnold and Maier-Rigaud (2012) also in this volume.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Millennium Economics Ltd 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Translated from the German text of 1963 by:

Both authors would like to express their gratitude to Hans Albert for authorizing this translation. Particular thanks are due to Viktor Vanberg for his continued support and help in advancing this project and also to Geoffrey Hodgson for facilitating the publication. We also thank the Max Planck Institute Library team for support.

References

Albert, H. (1957), ‘Theorie und Prognose in den Sozialwissenschaften’, Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik, 93: 6076.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1958a), ‘Martksoziologie und Entscheidungslogik: Objektbereich und Problemstellung der theoretischen Nationalökonomie’, Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft, 114: 269296.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1958b), ‘Wachstumsmodelle und Realität. Bemerkungen zu Roses Kritik der Wachstumstheorie’, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 169: 120124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albert, H. (1959a), ‘Political Economy as Sociology’, in Popper, K. (ed.), The Logic of Scientific Discovery, London: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1959b), ‘Der logische Charakter der theoretischen Nationalökonomie. Zur Diskussion um die exakte Wirtschaftstheorie’, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 171: 113.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1960), ‘Nationalökonomie als Soziologie. Zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Integrationsproblematik’, Kyklos, 13: 143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albert, H. (1961), ‘Die Problematik der ökonomischen Perspektive’, Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft, 117: 438467.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1962a), ‘Der moderne Methodenstreit und die Grenzen des Methodenpluralismus’, Jahrbuch für Sozialwissenschaft, 13: 143169.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1962b), ‘Probleme der Wissenschaftslehre in der Sozialforschung’, in König, R. (ed.), Handbuch der empirischen Sozialforschung, vol. I, Stuttgart: Enke Verlag.Google Scholar
Albert, H. (1964), ‘Social Science and Moral Philosophy’, in Bunge, M. (ed.), The Critical Approach to Science and Philosophy. Essays in Honor of Karl Popper, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Anger, H. (1962), ‘Theoriebildung und Modelldenkgen in der Kleingruppenforschung’, Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsycholoie, 14.Google Scholar
Archibald, G. C. (1959), ‘Welfare Economics, Ethics, and Essentialism’, Economica, 26: 316327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archibald, G. C. (1959)/60), ‘Testing Marginal Productivity Theory’, The Review of Economic Studies, 27: 210213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archibald, G. C. (1961), ‘Chamberlin versus Chicago’, The Review of Economic Studies, 29 (1): 228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, D. and Maier-Rigaud, F. P. (2012), ‘The Enduring Relevance of the Model Platonism Critique for Economics and Public Policy’, Journal of Institutional Economics, in this issue.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, J. W. (ed.) (1958), Motives in Fantasy, Action, and Society, Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.Google Scholar
Bartley, W. W. (1964), ‘Rationality versus the Theory of Rationality’, in Bunge, M. (ed.), The Critical Approach to Science and Philosophy. Essays in Honor of Karl Popper, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Bellah, R. W. (1957), Tokugawa Religion. The Values of Pre-Industrial Japan, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Bombach, G. (1953), ‘Zur Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Wachstums’, Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 70.Google Scholar
Brunner, O. (1949), Adeliges Landleben und europäischer Geist, Salzburg: Otto Müller.Google Scholar
Brunner, O. (1950), ‘Die alteuropäische Ökonomik’, Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie, 13 (1): 114139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnap, R. (1954), Einführung in die symbolische Logik, Vienna: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, R. A., Haire, M., and Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1959), Social Science Research on Business. Product and Potential, New York: Colombia University Press.Google Scholar
Duesenberry, J. (1954), ‘The Methodological Basis of Economic Theory’, Review of Economics and Statistics, 36 (4): 361363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duesenberry, J. S. (1949), Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behavior, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Eucken, W. (1947), Die Grundlagen der Nationalökonomie, 5th edn, Godesberg: Küpper.Google Scholar
Feyerabend, P. K. (1962), ‘Explanation, Reduction, and Empiricism’, in Feigl, H. and Maxwell, G. (eds.), Scientific Explanation, Space, and Time, III Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. (1953a), Essays in Positive Economics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. (1953b), ‘The Marshallian Demand Curve’, in Essays in Positive Economics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. (1959), ‘Geldangebot, Preis- und Produktionsänderungen’, Ordo-Jahrbuch, 11: 193216.Google Scholar
Gibson, Q. (1960), The Logic of Social Enquiry, London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Hagen, E. E. (1958), ‘How Economic Growth Begins. A General Theory Applied to Japan’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 22 (3): 373390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagen, E. E. (1962), On the Theory of Social Change. How Economic Growth Begins, Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Hickman, C. A. and Kuhn, M. H. (1956), Individuals, Groups, and Economic Behavior, New York: Dryden Press.Google Scholar
Hicks, J. R. (1956), A Revision of Demand Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hutchison, T. W. (1937), ‘Theoretische Ökonomie als Sprachsystem’, Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie, 8: 7890.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchison, T. W. (1938), The Significance and Basis Postulates of Economic Theory, New York: A. M. Kelley.Google Scholar
Hutchison, T. W. (1941), ‘The Significance and Basic Postulates of Economic Theory: A Reply to Professor Knight’, The Journal of Political Economy, 49 (5): 732750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katona, G. (1960), Das Verhalten der Verbraucher und Unternehmer, (Boettcher, E., ed.), Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr.Google Scholar
Klappholz, K. and Agassi, J. (1959), ‘Methodological Prescriptions in Economics’, Economica, 26 (101): 6074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Königs, R. (1963), ‘Grundlagenprobleme der soziologischen Forschungsmethoden (Modelle, Theorien, Kategorien)’, in Karrenberg, F. and Albert, H. (ed.), Sozialwissenschaft und Gesellschaftsgestaltung. Festschrift für Gerhard Weisser, Berlin: Duncker and Humblot.Google Scholar
Lewin, K., Dembo, T., Festinger, L., and Sears, P. S. (1944), ‘Level of Aspiration’, in Hunt, J. M. (ed.), Personality and the Behavior Disorders, New York: Ronald Press Company.Google Scholar
Mackenroth, G. (1953), Bevölkerungslehre. Theorie, Soziologie und Statistik der Bevölkerung, Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Majumdar, T. (1958), The Measurement of Utility, London and New York: Macmillan and St Martin's Press.Google Scholar
McClelland, D. C. (1961), The Achieving Society, Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. K. and Rossi, A. S. (1957a), ‘Contributions to the Theory of Reference Group Behavior’, in Merton, R. K. (ed.), Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Merton, R. K. and Rossi, A. S. (1957b), ‘Continuities in the Theory of Reference Groups and Social Structure’, in Merton, R. K. (ed.), Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Mishan, E. J. (1960), ‘A Survey of Welfare Economics, 1939–1959’, Economic Journal, 70 (278): 197265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishan, E. J. (1961), ‘Theories of Consumer's Behaviour: A Cynical View’, Economica, 28 (109): 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myrdals, G. (1962), Das politische Element in der nationalökonomischen Doktrinbildung, 2nd edn, Hannover: Verlag für Literatur und Zeitgeschehen [first published in 1932 by Junker und Dünnhaupt: Berlin].Google Scholar
Nagel, E. (1961), The Structure of Science, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Wood.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niehans, J. (1951), ‘Die Wandlungen ökonomischer Gesetze’, Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik, 87: 300309.Google Scholar
Papandreou, A. G. (1958), Economics as a Science, Chicago: J. B. Lippincott.Google Scholar
Parsons, T. (1954), ‘The Motivation of Economic Activities’, in Parsons, T. (ed.), Essays in Sociological Theory, rev. edn, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Polanyi, K., Arensberg, C. M., and Pearson, H. W. (eds.) (1957), Trade and Market in the Early Empires. Economies in History and Theory, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Popper, K. (1959), The Logic of Scientific Discovery, London: Basic Books [first published in German as Logik der Forschung in 1935].Google Scholar
Popper, K. (1962), ‘Some Comments on Truth and the Growth of Knowledge’, in Nagel, E., Suppes, P. and Tarski, A. (eds.), Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Popper, K. R. (1957), The Poverty of Historicism, London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Preiser, E. (1953), ‘Erkenntniswert und Grenzen der Grenzproduktivitätstheorie’, Schweizerische Zeitschrf it für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik, 89: 2545.Google Scholar
Robbins, L. (1952), An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science, 2nd edn, London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Rose, K. (1957), ‘Der Erkenntniswert der Wachstumsmodelle’, Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 168: 321336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotwein, E. (1959), ‘On the Methodology of Positive Economics’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 73 (4): 554575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, E. (1957), Einführung in die Wirtschaftstheorie, vol. III, 4th edn, Tübingen: Mohr, pp. 208216.Google Scholar
Schneider, E. (1962), Einführung in die Wirtschaftstheorie, vol. IV/I, Tübingen: Mohr.Google Scholar
Topitsch, E. (1958), Vom Ursprung und Ende der Metaphysik, Vienna: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topitsch, E. (1960), ‘Über Leerformeln. Zur Pragmatik des Sprachgebrauches in Philosophie und politischer Theorie’, in Topitsch, E. (ed.), Probleme der Wissenschaftstheorie. Festschrift für Viktor Kraft, Vienna: Springer, pp. 233264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topitsch, E. (1961), Sozialphilosophie zwischen Ideologie und Wissenschaft, Neuwied: Luchterhand.Google Scholar
Triffin, R. (1940), Monopolistic Competition and General Equilibrium Theory, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Von Kempski, J. (1954), ‘Handlung, Maxime und Situation. Zur logischen Analyse der mathematischen Wirtschaftstheorie’, Studium Generale, 7. [reprinted in Theorie und Realität, edited by H. Albert, Tübingen, 1964].Google Scholar
Watrin, C. (1960), ‘Modelle und Hypothesen in der Wachstumstheorie’, in Wirtschaftspolitische Chronik, vol. I, Cologne: Institute for Economic Policy at Cologne University (Institut für Wirtschaftspolitik an der Universität zu Köln).Google Scholar
Weckstein, R. S. (1962), ‘Welfare Criteria and Changing Tastes’, American Economic Review, 52 (1), 133153.Google Scholar
Weintraub, S. (1942), ‘The Foundations of the Demand Curve’, American Economic Review, 32 (3/1): 538552.Google Scholar
Weisser, G. (1949), Form und Wesen der Einzelwirtschaften; Theorie und Politik ihrer Stile, vol. 1, 2nd edn, Göttingen: W. Kohlhammer.Google Scholar
Weisser, G. (1956), ‘Wirtschaft’, in Ziegenfuß, W. (ed.), Handbuch der Soziologie, Stuttgart: F. Enke, pp. 9701098.Google Scholar