Abstract
Abstract. In today's corpus of economic geography textbooks published in the German-speaking countries, the spatial science approach is described as involving a neoclassical view of economics, a chorological explanatory strategy, (neo)positivist roots, and a focus on developments that have occurred since 1969. This approach has received sweeping criticism for its undersocialization, its spatial fetishism, and its exclusively quantitative methodology. The article proposes to abandon the dominant historiography of science, which focuses on national economies and takes a positivist perspective, in favor of a form of contextualization that has its roots in the sociology of knowledge. The article examines relevant publications in journals and textbooks to show that what has been known as the quantitative revolution did not become widely accepted among German-speaking researchers until the late 1970s, long after it originally began to emerge. This process was characterized by a shift toward a consultative perspective that researchers adopted in hopes of becoming involved in the spatial planning initiatives of the state. In the resulting usage context of the Keynesian interventionist state, a culture of economic geography experts developed that discussed methods and concepts in an innovative and pluralist manner.
Highlights
The article examines relevant publications in journals and textbooks to show that what has been known as the quantitative revolution did not become widely accepted among German-speaking researchers until the late 1970s, long after it originally began to emerge
In today’s corpus of economic geography textbooks published in the German-speaking countries, the spatial science approach is described as involving a neoclassical view of economics, a chorological explanatory strategy,positivist roots, and a focus on developments that have occurred since 1969
The article proposes to abandon the dominant historiography of science, which focuses on national economies and takes a positivist perspective, in favor of a form of contextualization that has its roots in the sociology of knowledge
Summary
In der gegenwärtigen deutschsprachigen wirtschaftsgeographischen Diskussion ist der raumwirtschaftliche Ansatz (RA) ein gemeinsamer Fixpunkt. Sowohl seine Vertreter wie auch seine Kritiker, z.B. aus dem Lager der institutionalistisch oder evolutionär argumentierenden Wirtschaftsgeographie, sehen ihn als eine Theorie mit klar umrissenen Annahmen, Aussagen und Grenzen. Ebenfalls ist man sich weitgehend darin einig, dass dieser Ansatz in einem kurzen Zeitraum etabliert wurde und zu einem vollständigen Umbruch in der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion geführt hat. Diesen Paradigmenwechsel hin zur Wirtschaftsgeographie als Raumwirtschaftslehre, der in Deutschland vor allem durch den Kieler Geographentag 1969 markiert wird, bezeichnet man auch als quantitative Revolution.“ Durch diese symbolhafte Kopplung mit einem wissenschaftlichen Kongress in diesem Zitat wie im verbreiteten theoriegeschichtlichen Gedächtnis wird die Schnelligkeit und Vollständigkeit des Wechsels unterstrichen All dies hat dazu beigetragen, dass er auch in der heutigen Theoriediskussion als eine Negativfolie genutzt wird, die bei der Schärfung des eigenen Profils hilft.
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