Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Wertfreiheit: Wertfreiheit in economics refers to the principle of value neutrality, meaning that economic analysis should remain free of personal, ethical, or political judgments. Introduced by Max Weber, it emphasizes objective reasoning, distinguishing between empirical statements ("what is") and normative statements ("what ought to be"), ensuring scientific rigor in economic research. See also Objectivity, Science, Neutrality, Judgments._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Max Weber on Wertfreiheit - Dictionary of Arguments
Coyne I 9 Wertfreiheit/Weber/Austrian School/Coyne/Boettke: In the nineteenth century, economists associated with the German Historical School embraced the connection between economic analysis and active advocacy for specific political outcomes. From the perspective of the German historicists, the value of economics was precisely that it enabled advocacy for desired outcomes. Wertfreiheit: Max Weber, one of the founding fathers of sociology, offered an alternative position. Weber argued that, for social science to be scientific, the practitioner had to draw a clear line between analysis and advocating for particular positions or advancing personal value judgments. The Weberian doctrine of Wertfreiheit-"value freedom" - was adopted by Mises as a foundational principle of what it meant to do economic science. This doctrine makes sense in light of the prior methodological principles. >Ludwig von Mises, >Austrian School. The adoption by Austrian economists of methodological individualism and purposive action places emphasis on the logic of choice regarding the use of scarce means to achieve desired ends. >Means and ends. Example: An economist may be tasked, for example, with studying whether a rent control policy is an effective means of increasing affordable housing for the least well-off in society. The analyst can use the tools of economics to show the perverse effects of such a policy: a housing shortage, a reduction in the supply of future housing compared to a situation without rent control, a reduction in the quality of existing houses, the reduction in the cost of landlords engaging in non-monetary discrimination. In this case, the economist has used the scientific tools of economics to show that the results of policy will be undesirable in terms of the ends desired by the policymakers. This is a bad policy, not because the ends ofhelping the least well-off is bad or because the economist has a personal dislike for rent control policies, but rather because the policy of rent control is an ineffective means to achieve the stated end of helping the most disadvantaged. The adoption of the doctrine of Wertfreiheit allows for the operation of a distinct science of economics, separate from political advocacy or personal bias. While the science of economics is value free, it can be used to inform policy._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Weber I M. Weber The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - engl. trnsl. 1930 German Edition: Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus München 2013 Coyne I Christopher J. Coyne Peter J. Boettke The Essential Austrian Economics Vancouver 2020 |
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