The real theme of the book is the contrast between the precise analytical philosophy of the Vienna Circle, and its turbulent political and social surroundings. It is also the story of how these philosophers seemed to retreat from the world, sometimes quite literally. The picture of Kurt Gödel at the end of the book, which shows the philosopher at just 65 pounds in the garden of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, suggests that he has indeed all but retreated from the world. It is also this tension that the book ultimately leaves underdeveloped, as if the only natural response to the'demented times' is to retreat into pure science and philosophy. That this need not be so, is clear from the actions of Otto Neurath, the most political member of the Circle. He is involved with the Bavarian socialist revolution just after WWI, is the driving force behind public education programs in Vienna, the one who opens a museum for visual statistics, and the driving force behind the pamphlet which launches the Vienna Circle as a social movement in favour of the scientific world-view. But it is precisely Neurath who is throughout the book treated with little sympathy if not outright disdain by Sigmund.
This paper presents an original conceptualization of the different attitudes economists have expressed toward their object of study. It distinguishes between a humanist and a scientist tradition in economics and argues that both stances can be combined with an active and a passive attitude. This results in four different positions or attitudes, that of the positive scientist (passive scientist), the social engineer (active scientist), the student (passive humanist) and the emancipator (active humanist). The paper explores the implications of the four positions and it argues that there are many threads within Austrian economics and Virigina Political Economy that point toward the attitude of the active humanist. As such it is an extension and a correction of the distinction drawn between the student and the scientist in my book _Viennese students of Civilization_ (2016). It is argued that the emancipator position has to explicitly engage with what Buchanan calls 'might-bes', that is hypothetical changes in rules, institutions, or human behavior, and as such has important links with the critical tradition on the left.
It is 50 years since the first Nobel Prize in economics was awarded to Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch. This article analyzes the collaborations between these pioneers of econometrics which spanned four decades and various subfields in economics, based on records of their correspondence. It is demonstrated that, while Frisch was largely responsible for theoretical breakthroughs, Tinbergen was responsible for making them public and popularizing them. This is especially relevant for understanding the development of econometric models in the 1950s, decision models of the 1950s, and subsequent work on utility measurement. This division of labor is analyzed in relation to the goals they pursued in their research and their respective perfectionistic (Frisch) and pragmatic (Tinbergen) approaches to economic science. Both men shared a sense of deep social responsibility, but differences in their personalities and approaches to science generated important differences in scientific recognition and policy influence. Although they are both widely remembered for helping to turn economics into a quantitative empirical science, this article shows that they were motivated by separate personal and political goals which shaped their scientific approaches.
Der Vorrang des Kulturellen zeigt sich auch in Röpkes Blick auf den Markt. Was ihm an der Marktwirtschaft am meisten gefiel, war nicht ihre materielle Wirkung, sondern die damit eng verbundene bürgerliche Ethik, wie Alan Kahan in seinem wunderbaren Kapitel über Jacob Burckhardt und Röpke zeigt. Es ist die Ethik der Eigenverantwortung, der Sparsamkeit, der Klugheit und der Selbstdisziplin, getragen vom Kapitalismus der Kleinunternehmerfamilie. So sah Röpke seine Schweizer Wahlheimat, er lebte und lehrte von 1937 bis zu seinem Tod im Jahre 1966 in Genf. Das ist aber etwas anderes als der Kapitalismus des 20. Jahrhunderts mit seinen großen hierarchischen Unternehmen, dem technischen Fortschritt und der Konsumkultur. Diese moderne Form lässt das Kontinuum zwischen privaten und öffentlichen Tugenden, das Röpke suchte, nicht zu. Stattdessen, wie Friedrich August von Hayek später betonte, lebt der moderne Mensch in zwei verschiedenen Welten zugleich: in der kleinen Welt der Familie und in der offenen Gesellschaft des Marktes und der Politik.
Overall, it is clear that in Kumekawa Pigou has found a very sympathetic biographer, who writes in the best Cambridge tradition of Quentin Skinner: the book is rich in intellectual history and context. The flipside is that virtually no attempt is made to rationally reconstruct ideas, or even to explain the technicalities of Pigou's theoretical contributions in modern (economic) language. This Cambridge style also means that the book is written in elegant, "gentlemanly" prose, that tends to smooth out the rough edges, if not indeed, as in the case of these supposed myths, to brush over them completely. And the modern reader cannot help but be frustrated when Pigou is again off on one of his many hikes or other outdoor activities, while important academic and political work awaits him. Kumekawa instead is endlessly patient with his subject, and is sympathetic to Pigou almost to a fault.
This chapter demonstrates the way in which an economic rationality of state support for the arts was developed in the 1970's and 80's by analyzing three crucial debates between economists of the arts and others. It is argued that the economists of the arts sought to provide a more solid foundation for specific state policies directed at the arts. But in the process of doing so they narrowed the grounds on which such support could be justified, and they had to sidestep the most crucial issues: what is excellence in the arts, and what is the moral status of consumer preferences in the case of the arts? Those critical of this economic rationality, and the economic approach to the arts more generally, argued for the fundamental difference between politics and the market, and individual preferences and social values. Overall the debates were characterized by mutual misunderstanding. The exception was the debate over the 'merit good', but it ultimately was an unsatisfactory argument for both sides. The economists were not convinced that it was really an economic argument, and the critics felt that the merit good did not capture the special role of the arts in a liberal society.
__Abstract__ This article examines the intellectual scenery of interwar Vienna. It argues that its central institution was not academia, but rather the circles ('Kreise'). The prominence of these circles can partly account for the creative outburst in the social sciences in interwar Vienna. The article also helps to explain the peculiar character of the knowledge produced in interwar Vienna which is just as much concerned with social and political issues as it is with more traditional scientific issues. The lack of formal institutions and the marginal position of the University of Vienna also had downsides. It caused uncertainty in terms of career prospects and professional identities, although the informal interaction within the circles full of rituals and alternative institutions could partly make up for this. The uncertain future for scholars ultimately contributed to the enormous wave of migration from Vienna, frequently even before the political situation became an acute threat.
__Nederlandse Samenvatting__ De markt is bij uitstek de plek waar het individu vrij kan zijn. Dat is ook het standaardbeeld van het gedachtegoed van de Oostenrijkse School van de Economie. In zijn dissertatie 'The Viennese students of Civilization: Humility, Culture and Economics in Interwar Vienna and Beyond' betoogt Erwin Dekker dat die school, bekend van onder andere Friedrich Hayek, Joseph Schumpeter en Carl Menger, vrijheid niet ziet als het ontbreken van beperkingen, maar als een culturele verworvenheid. Individuen kunnen alleen vrij zijn, zo betogen de Oostenrijkers, doordat er gedeelde normen en instituties zijn die de vrijheid mogelijk maken. De verzameling van normen en instituties is voor hen de beschaving. Die beschaving en haar instituties zoals markten kunnen alleen floreren als ze worden ondersteund door een bredere cultuur. Die steun brokkelt echter snel af gedurende het interbellum. De Weense studenten van de beschaving analyseren die 'revolte' tegen de beschaving, gevoed door het socialisme en het fascisme. Socialisten zijn er ten onrechte van overtuigd dat de economie te plannen, en de maatschappij maakbaar is. Aan de rechterzijde wordt er juist betoogd dat het juk van de beschaving te groot is en het individu beperkt. Daartegen ontwikkelen de Oostenrijkers hun visie van vrijheid en markten als culturele verworvenheden. Die verworvenheden zijn niet natuurlijk, noch te plannen, ze zijn de min of meer onbewuste uitkomst van menselijke interactie. Die visie ontstaat binnen de rijke Weense cultuur van het interbellum, die vooral plaatsheeft in de intellectuele kringen. In die levendige gesprekscultuur worden de Weense economen uitgedaagd om een betrokken en brede analyse te ontwikkelen. Wat dat betreft staan ze ver af van de moderne economen gericht op theoretische marktmodellen die vooral in gesprek zijn met andere academici. Zo bezien kan de Weense traditie ons nog veel leren, zeker in een tijd waarin de acceptatie van veel van onze culturele instituties verre van vanzelfsprekend is. ; In this dissertation it is argued that the scholars who are usually known under the banner Austrian Economists are better understood as the Viennese students of Civilization. By understanding the group of scholars, consisting of Carl Menger, Friedrich von Wieser, Joseph Schumpeter, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek among others, as Viennese students of Civilization we are better able to understand their unique contribution. Contrary to many economists - both then and now - the Viennese students of civilization consider the economy not as a self-regulating natural order, or a system which can be planned, but as cultural process. Just like language and law, markets emerge and develop from human interaction. When the Viennese conceive of the market as a cultural process it means for them that the market has important cultural effects and is sustained by what we could call a market culture. In this dissertation the cultural effects of the market are explored especially as they relate to restraint; the central element of civilization for the Viennese scholars. It is argued that restraint is considered the central feature of civilization by a wider group of Central European scholars including Freud, Malinowski and Elias. The Viennese students of civilization, especially Wieser, Mises and Hayek argue that they live in a particularly unrestrained age. This has fueled opposition to market and other cultural processes which are not rationally constructed. The acceptance and cultivation of the market comes at a cost they argue; this cost they call the 'strain of civilization'. That cost is primarily the restraint of our innate instincts. Civilization requires the acceptance of certain norms, of individual responsibility, the acceptance of differences and inequality. This price to be paid is termed 'the strain of civilization'. This price however is no longer accepted by social scientists who preach unrestrained rationalism. And it is no longer accepted by mass political movements such as socialism and fascism which promise they can relieve the people of this strain. Particularly during the interwar period the Viennese students of civilization feel that their civilization is in acute danger. They analyze this revolt, and their own role in this process. Initially their response is largely passive and accepting. This attitude is characteristic of a Viennese cultural trait known as 'therapeutic nihilism'. The social scientist, or rather student, can study the large cultural processes, but they are outside his or her control. Stronger yet, the Viennese students believe that many of their contemporaries are under the illusion that they could predict the course of society, and ultimately of history. This outsider-perspective, however, is seriously challenged during the Interwar period, especially during the rise of fascism. The Viennese intellectuals increasingly realize that they bear a responsibility toward their culture, and they might even possibly have some influence on its fate. This puts them in an awkward position. Their work is becoming more political and idealistic, features which they had criticized in the work of others. Especially Hayek's 'The Road to Serfdom' and Popper's 'The Open Society and its Enemies' are examples of this tension; the tension between the realization of the limited power of the scholar, and the desire to defend a civilization under pressure. In their work they apologize to their colleagues for the political nature of their work, but they feel obliged to write this work, which they consider 'their war effort'. Ultimately, although reluctantly, they engage in an attempt to draw up ideals and plans for the future. They regain some hope, in part because they no longer write for a Continental but for an Anglo-Saxon audience. It is also in this sense that Hayek and Popper are engaged in a new kind of liberalism, one that is resistant to mass political movements and the desire to throw off cultural restraints. This dissertation draws heavily on the cultural histories of fin-de-siècle and interwar Vienna. It shows similarities in the problems faced by artists, novelists, scientists and politicians in Vienna. Such similarities sometimes were sometimes incidental, but they also arose out of the interactions in the Viennese circles. In the partly overlapping circles broad intellectual conversations were stimulated and this greatly contributed to the creativity of the contributions emerging out of Vienna, especially during the interwar period. It is argued that the prominence of these circles partly accounts for the fact that the Viennese students of civilization crossed many interdisciplinary boundaries, and that their intellectual concerns were as much driven by social and political issues as it was by scientific concerns.
This article provides an analysis of the effectiveness of cultural policy in Brazil under the Rouanet Law for the period 1993–2016. We find that the law, which provides tax incentives for donations to and sponsorships of the cultural sector, has exacerbated existing socio-economic inequalities, regional inequalities and inequalities between artistic genres. The gifts have predominantly gone to already successful projects, sometimes even already profitable projects. On the flip side, the gifts have primarily come from large, mostly partially state-owned, enterprises and act as the equivalent of a tax cut for these organisations. From the evidence, it is not clear that any particular market failure is alleviated through the Rouanet Law; instead, it seems that the system of indirect support led to strong control over the cultural sector by big business in Brazil. We use these findings to criticise much of the literature on cultural policy, which tends to take Western well-developed institutions for granted. We argue that this literature is ill-suited to capture the economy of Brazil and other 'limited-access states' because of its implicit assumption of a pre-existing 'open-access state'.
Notwithstanding the plurality of meanings and connotations in time and space, Socio-Economics clearly was a theoretical endeavor, unlike the common myths about the anti- or -theoretical nature of the Historical School's research program. In a world of quantitative growth and qualitative transformation of economy and society, many of the economists of the time wondered whether there were any stable social-scientific categories that one could use to analyze the modern market economy
Each year approximately 15,000 patients are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Netherlands, of whom 5-10% are associated with a hereditary syndrome. To enable future research into hereditary CRC, we established a collaborative biobank for hereditary CRC in all eight University Medical Centers (UMCs) in the Netherlands in 2009. This Biobank Hereditary CRC is part of the Parelsnoer Institute (PSI), which is funded by the Dutch Federation of UMCs and the Dutch Government. Besides the multicenter collaboration, the multidisciplinary nature of this biobank - involving Gastroenterology, Genetics and Surgery - is essential for its functionality and value.Patients at increased risk of hereditary CRC and/or Polyposis, or with a proven germline mutation causing CRC and/or Polyposis are included. Both clinical data (demographic data, details on medical and family history, information on surveillance, endoscopy and surgery, results of microsatellite instability and molecular genetic tests) and biomaterial (DNA, plasma, serum and tissue) are collected in a standardized manner.
Population-based screening for early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) and precursor lesions, using evidence-based methods, can be effective in populations with a significant burden of the disease provided the services are of high quality. Multidisciplinary, evidence-based guidelines for quality assurance in CRC screening and diagnosis have been developed by experts in a project co-financed by the European Union. The 450-page guidelines were published in book format by the European Commission in 2010.They include 10 chapters and over 250 recommendations, individually graded according to the strength of the recommendation and the supporting evidence. Adoption of the recommendations can improve and maintain the quality and effectiveness of an entire screening process, including identification and invitation of the target population, diagnosis and management of the disease and appropriate surveillance in people with detected lesions. To make the principles, recommendations and standards in the guidelines known to a wider professional and scientific community and to facilitate their use in the scientific literature, the original content is presented in journal format in an open-access Supplement of Endoscopy. The editors have prepared the present overview to inform readers of the comprehensive scope and content of the guidelines.
