Book Review: Erwin Dekker, The Viennese Students of Civilization: The Meaning and Context of Austrian Economics Reconsidered
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929917716895 |
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| Author | Aref Ebadi |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsPolitical Theory |
603
defence of one normative position. But the
Norbert Elias and the therapeutic nihilism
strength of Just Property is in how it combines
movement in medicine, all of which either
rigorous scholarship with witty commentary
influenced or were influenced by Viennese stu-
that quietly celebrates Rousseau’s ‘heroic fail-
dents of civilisation.
ure’ and sighs at the German Idealists’ knack
One common feature that Dekker points
for starting in all the wrong places.
out among Viennese intellectuals is their
awareness of their ignorance or their ‘incom-
Patrick JL Cockburn
plete knowledge of their civilization’. In the
(Aarhus University)
case of economists, this means that econo-
© The Author(s) 2017
mists cannot steer or engineer the economy.
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Dekker argues, however, that this did not
DOI: 10.1177/1478929917712912
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
make economists redundant for the society.
‘Economic knowledge does not easily lead to
solutions or cures, but instead makes us aware
The Viennese Students of Civilization: The
of our limitations’ (p. 5). Therefore, it has a
Meaning and Context of Austrian Economics
therapeutic effect on us.
Reconsidered by Erwin Dekker. Cambridge:
Dekker’s book is well organised and he elu-
Cambridge University Press, 2016. 236pp., £69.99
cidates different concepts in very clear and
(h/b), ISBN 9781107126404
accessible language. Also, I would say that this
book should be considered one of the rare
This book is about the social and cultural life
books on Friedrich Hayek’s early life in Vienna
of ‘Viennese students of civilisation’ during the
and the effect of the Viennese intellectual
interwar period. During this time, many
atmosphere on shaping his particular version of
Viennese intellectuals felt that their civilisation
liberalism.
was in decline or even worse, about to be
Aref Ebadi
destroyed. Instead of just witnessing the...
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