Konzepte der sozialen Kohäsion im deutschen ökonomischen Denken seit dem 19. Jahrhundert

Abstract

Abstract The paper gives an overview over the discussion about the importance of the market for social cohesion in German economic thought in the 19th and early 20th century. During this period close ties were kept between economics and sociology in Germany. As a result, there still was an intense reception of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments in the late 19th century. However, after the death of Gustav Schmoller in 1917 the links between economics and sociology became significantly weaker. This might be an explanation for the fact that the fathers of the Social Market Economy have surprisingly little to say about the relationship between the market and social cohesion.