Skip to main content
Top
Published in:
Cover of the book

2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. Introduction

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

This book provides preliminary information about Central European economic thought development for approximately four hundred years. It is an introduction to a history of economic thought in Central Europe. We perceive Central Europe as a compact territory of the four present-day countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. This region represents a geographical concept that has acquired a political and a cultural undertone. Central Europe varies culturally, historically, politically, and economically from Europe’s other parts and regions. After the introduction, the next chapter discusses the emergence of economic thought and its evolution until World War I. Chapter 3 includes the period between the two World Wars. Chapter 4 concentrates on the socialist period, while Chap. 5 deals shortly with the period after the socialist system’s break-up. The Appendix presents an incomplete list of economists born in Central Europe who made careers in Western countries, mostly in the twentieth century. Finally, we conclude.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Footnotes
1
In a similar spirit, see Mout (2006), Lindahl (2003), Kamusella (2012), Le Rider (2008), Wallace (2003). In different writings, Central Europe was also known as Mitteleuropa, l’Europe centrale, but also East-Central Europe, or Ostmitteleuropa. Before World War I, the concept of Mitteleuropa was perceived as a place where German ethnic, culture, and influence spread (Le Rider 2008). The German nation-state of 1871 was Kleindeutschland as it did not include the German-speaking areas of Austria-Hungary with which it would form Grossdeutschland, the dream of German nationalists before World War I. Kamusella (2012, p. 248). In contrast to the German concept of Central Europe as a space for German cultural, economic, and political expansion, Russians viewed Central Europe in terms of the Slavic world. Since the 1840s, different Pan-Slavism versions had become more widespread, Miller (1996, p. 7). However, after World War II in the Soviet discourse, there was no concept of Central Europe. Miller (1996, p. 15). Kobrinskaia (1997, p. 14) writes that Eastern Europe was used as a synonym for the world socialist system during the Cold War. Belonging to “former Eastern Europe” predetermined the mode of post-socialist transition bearing important psychological meaning—elites in East European countries perceived their future development in close cooperation with Western Europe. The primary goal of political elites was to get rid of this perception as “East European” and be instead considered “Central European.”
 
2
“In fact, the cardinal rules of the monarchy’s history were that ethnic and political frontiers did not coincide, and that its diverse nationalities were scattered pell-mell throughout its territories. After 1918, the so-called successor states valiantly strove to end this unhappy state of affairs, and they succeeded to a large degree, thanks to the use of such modern techniques as forced assimilation, persecution, and expulsion.” Deák (1990, p. 12).
 
3
In 1890 in Prešpurk (Posonium in Latin, Pressburg in German, Pozsony in Hungarian; from 1919 Bratislava), the population was around 52 000, about 60% were the Germans, approximately 20% the Hungarians, and around 17% the Slovaks. After 1919 Bratislava began to be Slovakized, and the proportion of the Slovaks and the Czechs increased. Before World War II, about 60% of the population were the Slovaks and the Czechs, 22% the Germans, and 13% the Hungarians. The foundation of Slovak State meant the expulsion of the Czechs and the deportation of Jews. After World War II German population was deported, too, and later partially Hungarian population. Besides, some upper-class families were expelled from Bratislava in the early years of communism and replaced by the proletariat families. As a result of these movements, currently, Slovaks represent around 90% of Bratislava’s population. Otto’s encyclopedia (1903, vol. 20), current Slovak official data, and Salner (2001).
 
4
In 1880, Budapest’s population accounted for around 506 000, about 57% were the Hungarians, 35% the Germans, 8-9% the Slavs, and 0.5% the Romanians. According to the religion, approximately 68% were Roman Catholic, 19% Jewish, and around 11% protestants. In 2011 population size was about 1.7 million by ethnicity, 81% were the Hungarians, 1.1% the Romani, 1% the Germans, 0.4% the Romanians, 0.3 the Chinese, 0.1% the Slovaks, and the remaining did not declare their ethnicity. Otto’s encyclopedia (1891, vol. 4), and current Hungarian official data. Interestingly, there are tendencies also in the opposite direction. Urban (1991, p. 777) documents that in 1988, only 8000 people in Poland claimed German ethnicity. However, in 1991, “according to official estimates in postcommunist Poland, there were 350-400 000 Polish citizens who claimed German roots for their families.”
 
5
Judt (1996, p. 54) argues that the Central European culture used to be cosmopolitan with most accomplished representatives were Ashkenazi Jews. Nevertheless, this culture was destroyed gradually in the twentieth century and made Central European cities just provincial cities, which lost their cosmopolitan character. Judt (1996) argues that these countries may be located in the middle of Europe, but their claim to a distinctive ‘Central Europeanness’ is ‘at best nostalgic, at worst bogus.’
 
6
For example, after the break-up of socialism initially, these countries opted for a democratic path and only gradually began to differ in nation-building’s political character. However, still today, all these lands are members of the European Union and NATO.
 
7
Robbins (1998, p. xvii) mentions that the author should reveal one’s bias whenever conscious of it. Schumpeter (1954/2006, p. 938) points out that political preferences make the basis of some biases. However, even economic theorists have a bias as they prefer manageable patterns.
 
8
Fischer, Sahay, and Vegh (1998, p. 7) compare the per capita income level in Western and Central European countries. From 1937 to 1992, their data document that Czechoslovakia reached a per capita income of 70% compared to the Western European average in 1937, but only 45% after the fascist and communist control ended. Note that in this period only for two to three years, Czechoslovakia was not under the totalitarian regimes.
 
9
Maybe such considerations led Friedrich August von Hayek in the Road to Serfdom to advise the West not to get involved in this region “peopled by small nations, each of which believes equally fervently in its own superiority over the others, is to undertake a task which can be performed only by the use of force.” Hayek (1944, pp. 232-233). It seems Keynes held similar opinions. “Keynes lamented that the breakup of the old multinational empires of Europe created new frontiers ‘between greedy, jealous, immature, and economically incomplete, nationalist states’.” Markwell (2006, p. 20). See also Wolff (1994). The emphasis on the unity of one people entailed a lack of unity with any other people, and from such a concept, it was a very short step to intolerance. Webb (2008, p. 15).
 
10
Some authors blame this nationalistic spirit on the over-blown importance of Central European intellectuals. The importance of Central European intellectuals reveals the limitations of political and economic elites as “Hungarians and Poles had no national bourgeoisie, the Slovaks did not even have a nobility, while the Czechs lacked both an upper bourgeoisie and an aristocracy.” Szakolczai (2005: 417-418). This had led the intellectuals to formulate “overblown and aggressive, mutually exclusive claims about the ‘missions’ of their own people.” Szakolczai (2005: pp. 417-418).
 
11
We have taken this expression from the introduction to Robbins (1998, p. xvi).
 
12
Political discontinuity also meant intolerance against some of the old academia’s representatives. For example, some professors lost jobs in universities that were shut down or relocated after World War I. Among them was Karl von Balás, who lectured at the short-lived Royal Hungarian Elizabeth University in Bratislava (1912-1918). After World War I, at German-speaking universities, one observed delay in replacing professors at vacated chairs by the Czechoslovak authorities. Šišma (2004, p. 64). Toward the end of the 1930s, Czech professors lost jobs in Slovak universities. In a similar spirit, non-Marxist professors lost jobs in the socialist regimes, and later Marxist professors were constrained after the break-up of the socialist regimes.
 
13
On the dark side of nationalization and the stealing of assets in modern Europe, see Ther (2014). See also Teich and Porter edited volume from 1993.
 
14
Only rarely such economists are listed in international reviews of the history of economic thought. International reviews typically list those with theoretically oriented contributions. For example, Blaug (1986), when considering one hundred great economists before Keynes, mentions only three economists from the region: Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz, Michal Kalecki, and Oskar Lange Furthermore, Blaug (1985), when considering one hundred major economists after Keynes, mentions only János Kornai from the region. However, Blaug’s list includes economists who originated from Central Europe and achieved fame in the West as Nicholas Kaldor, Tibor Scitovsky, and Jaroslav Vaněk. A Dictionary of Dissenting Economists edited by Arestis and Sawyer (1992) includes Nicholas Kaldor, Michal Kalecki, and Thomas Balogh originating from these lands. We recognize both groups of people. Those who left Central Europe and contributed to the general knowledge of economic theory. Moreover, those who stayed in Central Europe and worked their way in typically more complex and challenging conditions.
 
Literature
go back to reference Arestis, Philip, and Malcolm Sawyer. 1992. A Biographical Dictionary of Dissenting Economists. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar. Arestis, Philip, and Malcolm Sawyer. 1992. A Biographical Dictionary of Dissenting Economists. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar.
go back to reference Blaug, Mark. 1985. Great Economists since Keynes: an Introduction to the Lives & Works of One Hundred Modern Economists. Brighton / Totowa: Harvester Press / Barnes & Noble. Blaug, Mark. 1985. Great Economists since Keynes: an Introduction to the Lives & Works of One Hundred Modern Economists. Brighton / Totowa: Harvester Press / Barnes & Noble.
go back to reference ———. 1986. Great Economists before Keynes: An Introduction to the Lives & Works of One Hundred Great Economists of the Past. Brighton / Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Harvester Press / Humanities Press International. ———. 1986. Great Economists before Keynes: An Introduction to the Lives & Works of One Hundred Great Economists of the Past. Brighton / Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Harvester Press / Humanities Press International.
go back to reference Deák, István. 1990. Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1848-1918. New York: Oxford University Press. Deák, István. 1990. Beyond Nationalism: A Social and Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps, 1848-1918. New York: Oxford University Press.
go back to reference Fischer, Stanley, Ratna Sahay, and Carlos Vegh. 1998. How Far Is Eastern Europe from Brussels? International Monetary Fund Working Paper 98 (53): 1. Fischer, Stanley, Ratna Sahay, and Carlos Vegh. 1998. How Far Is Eastern Europe from Brussels? International Monetary Fund Working Paper 98 (53): 1.
go back to reference von Hayek, Friedrich August. 1944. Road to Serfdom. London: George Routledge & Sons. von Hayek, Friedrich August. 1944. Road to Serfdom. London: George Routledge & Sons.
go back to reference Jordan, Peter. 2006. A Subdivision of Europe into Larger Regions by Cultural Criteria. United Nations, Working Paper No. 48. Jordan, Peter. 2006. A Subdivision of Europe into Larger Regions by Cultural Criteria. United Nations, Working Paper No. 48.
go back to reference Judt, Tony. 1996. A Grand Illusion? An Essay on Europe. New York: Hill and Wang. Judt, Tony. 1996. A Grand Illusion? An Essay on Europe. New York: Hill and Wang.
go back to reference Kamusella, Tomasz. 2012. Central Europe in the Distorting Mirror of Maps, Languages and Ideas. The Polish Review 57 (1): 33–94. Kamusella, Tomasz. 2012. Central Europe in the Distorting Mirror of Maps, Languages and Ideas. The Polish Review 57 (1): 33–94.
go back to reference Kobrinskaia, Irina. 1997. Rossiia i TSentralnaia Vostochnaia Evropa posle “kholodnoivoiny voiny”. Moskva: Moskovskii TSentr Karnegi. Kobrinskaia, Irina. 1997. Rossiia i TSentralnaia Vostochnaia Evropa posle “kholodnoivoiny voiny”. Moskva: Moskovskii TSentr Karnegi.
go back to reference Le Rider, Jacques. 2008. Mitteleuropa, Zentraleuropa, Mittelosteuropa A Mental Map of Central Europe. European Journal of Social Theory 11 (2): 155–169.CrossRef Le Rider, Jacques. 2008. Mitteleuropa, Zentraleuropa, Mittelosteuropa A Mental Map of Central Europe. European Journal of Social Theory 11 (2): 155–169.CrossRef
go back to reference Lindahl, Rutger. 2003. Whither Europe? Borders, Boundaries, Frontiers in a Changing World. Göteborg: CERGU. Lindahl, Rutger. 2003. Whither Europe? Borders, Boundaries, Frontiers in a Changing World. Göteborg: CERGU.
go back to reference Markwell, Donald. 2006. John Maynard Keynes and International Relations. Economic Paths to War and Peace. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRef Markwell, Donald. 2006. John Maynard Keynes and International Relations. Economic Paths to War and Peace. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRef
go back to reference Miller, A.I., ed. 1996. Tsentralnaia evropa kak istoricheskii region (Central Europe as a Historical Region). Moskva: Institut slavianovedeniia i balkanistiki RAN. Miller, A.I., ed. 1996. Tsentralnaia evropa kak istoricheskii region (Central Europe as a Historical Region). Moskva: Institut slavianovedeniia i balkanistiki RAN.
go back to reference Mout, Nicolette. 2006. Does Europe Have a Centre? Reflections on the History of Western and Central Europe. European Review 14 (2): 257–268.CrossRef Mout, Nicolette. 2006. Does Europe Have a Centre? Reflections on the History of Western and Central Europe. European Review 14 (2): 257–268.CrossRef
go back to reference Muller, Jan-Werner. 2009. The Triumph of What (If Anything)? Rethinking Political Ideologies and Political Institutions in Twentieth-century Europe. Journal of Political Ideologies 14 (2): 211–226.CrossRef Muller, Jan-Werner. 2009. The Triumph of What (If Anything)? Rethinking Political Ideologies and Political Institutions in Twentieth-century Europe. Journal of Political Ideologies 14 (2): 211–226.CrossRef
go back to reference Ottův náučný slovník (Otto’s encyclopedia). 1891. Prague: J. Otto, volume 4. Ottův náučný slovník (Otto’s encyclopedia). 1891. Prague: J. Otto, volume 4.
go back to reference Ottův náučný slovník (Otto’s encyclopedia). 1903. Prague: J. Otto, volume 20. Ottův náučný slovník (Otto’s encyclopedia). 1903. Prague: J. Otto, volume 20.
go back to reference Robbins, Lionel. 1998. In A History of Economic Thought, the LSE Lectures, ed. Steven G. Medema and Warren J. Samuels. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. Robbins, Lionel. 1998. In A History of Economic Thought, the LSE Lectures, ed. Steven G. Medema and Warren J. Samuels. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.
go back to reference Salner, Peter. 2001. Ethnic Polarisation in an Ethnically Homogenous Town. Czech Sociological Review 9 (2): 235–246.CrossRef Salner, Peter. 2001. Ethnic Polarisation in an Ethnically Homogenous Town. Czech Sociological Review 9 (2): 235–246.CrossRef
go back to reference Schumpeter, Joseph. 1954. History of Economic Analysis. An edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. Schumpeter, Joseph. 1954. History of Economic Analysis. An edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
go back to reference Šišma, Pavel. 2004. Učitelé na německé technice v Brně 1849-1945. (Teachers at German Technical University in Brno 1849-1945). Prague: Společnost pro Dějiny věd a Techniky. Šišma, Pavel. 2004. Učitelé na německé technice v Brně 1849-1945. (Teachers at German Technical University in Brno 1849-1945). Prague: Společnost pro Dějiny věd a Techniky.
go back to reference Szakolczai, Arpad. 2005. Moving beyond the Sophists Intellectuals in East Central Europe and the Return of Transcendence. European Journal of Social Theory 8 (4): 417–433.CrossRef Szakolczai, Arpad. 2005. Moving beyond the Sophists Intellectuals in East Central Europe and the Return of Transcendence. European Journal of Social Theory 8 (4): 417–433.CrossRef
go back to reference Teich, Mikulas, and Roy Porter, eds. 1993. The National Question in Europe in Historical Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Teich, Mikulas, and Roy Porter, eds. 1993. The National Question in Europe in Historical Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
go back to reference Ther, Philipp. 2014. The Dark Side of Nation-States, Ethnic Cleansing in Modern Europe. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books. Ther, Philipp. 2014. The Dark Side of Nation-States, Ethnic Cleansing in Modern Europe. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books.
go back to reference Trencsényi, Balázs, and Michal Kopeček, eds. 2006. Discourse of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe (1770-1945). Budapest: Central European University Press. Trencsényi, Balázs, and Michal Kopeček, eds. 2006. Discourse of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe (1770-1945). Budapest: Central European University Press.
go back to reference Trencsényi, Balázs, Maciej Janowski, Monika Baar, Maria Falina, and Michal Kopeček. 2016. A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRef Trencsényi, Balázs, Maciej Janowski, Monika Baar, Maria Falina, and Michal Kopeček. 2016. A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRef
go back to reference Urban, Jan. 1991. Nationalism as a Totalitarian Ideology. Social Research 58 (4) Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe: 775–779. Urban, Jan. 1991. Nationalism as a Totalitarian Ideology. Social Research 58 (4) Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe: 775–779.
go back to reference Wallace, William. 2003. Where Should EU Enlargement Stop? In Whither Europe? Borders, Boundaries, Frontiers in a Changing World, ed. Rutger Lindahl, 7–17. Göteborg: CERGU. Wallace, William. 2003. Where Should EU Enlargement Stop? In Whither Europe? Borders, Boundaries, Frontiers in a Changing World, ed. Rutger Lindahl, 7–17. Göteborg: CERGU.
go back to reference Webb, Adrian. 2008. The Routledge Companion to Central and Eastern Europe since 1919. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.CrossRef Webb, Adrian. 2008. The Routledge Companion to Central and Eastern Europe since 1919. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.CrossRef
go back to reference Wolff, Larry. 1994. Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Wolff, Larry. 1994. Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Metadata
Title
Introduction
Author
Julius Horvath
Copyright Year
2020
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58926-4_1