On Menger, Hayek and on the Concept of ‘Verstehen’

On 3 July 1866 the Prussian army won a decisive victory over the Austrians at the battle of Königgrätz. Ill-equipped with outdated muzzle-loading rifles and under the blundering leadership of Ludwig von Benedek, the Austrian army suffered a crushing and devastating defeat (see among others Craig, 1964 or Herre, 1978). Not even the brilliant and much celebrated military victories at Custozza by Archduke Albrecht and at Lissa by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegettoff could offset this lasting humiliation. This stigma conspicuously contributed to the fact that the label ‘Austrian’ had acquired a somewhat condescending implication in the German Reich. Especially the academic community in the Austro-Hungarian Empire1 was frequently looked down upon and most of their publications were often ranked inferior.2