Wilhelm Röpke

Wilhelm Roepke may have been the soundest economist of the twentieth century. He understood the limitations as well as the strengths of his discipline. Economists are often tempted to take the easy way out, by denying reality to aspects of human existence and reducing them to arbitrary and subjective tastes and preferences. Roepke never does this, and this is his strength. He realizes that all of these are legitimate aspects of human experience which must be satisfied in a balanced and harmonious social existence. Nature, sex, religion, beauty, and politics are all meaningful as parts of the whole. Problems occur only when each segment attempts to become the whole. THe original title of this book, Civitas Humana, contains a double meaning. It promises a treatment of questions fundamental not only to human society but also to humane society. The volume combines distinct aspects of life. Half of the book is devoted to questions of economic and social life. The other half examines spiritual and national life. Chapters include "Moral Foundations," "The Place of Science in the City of Man," "Counterweights to the State," "Congestion and Proletarianisation of Society," and "Economic System and International New Order." Although Roepke recognized the validity of the nation in the modern world, he was constantly trying to find the smaller agencies within society in which real allegiances and loyalties were to be developed. His ideas continue to be of significance. As described by William F. Campbell in the new introduction, The Moral Foundations of Civil Society is a necessary addition to the libraries of economists, sociologists, theologians, and philosophers. -- from back cover.

"Wilhelm Ropke's A Humane Economy offers perhaps the most understandable and compelling explanation of how economies operate which has appeared in our day. Ropke's masterwork cuts through the jargon and statistics that make most economic writing so obscure and confusing. Over and over, the great Swiss economist stresses one simple point: You cannot separate economic principles from human behavior." "Ropke's observations are as startlingly relevant today as when they were first set forth some four decades ago." "However, Ropke's greatest contribution is not his brilliant insight into the processes of economic growth (important as that may be), but rather how he crystallizes the moral implications of economic decision making. His clear, concise writing (both in the original German and in this pristine and readable English translation) demonstrates clearly how economic processes and government policies influence our behavior and decision making - to the betterment or detriment of life in those vital and highly fragile human structures we call communities."--BOOK JACKET.

"Translated from the second edition.""First published in Great Britain in 1946. Published in Switzerland in 1945 under the title Die deutsche frage."

"Vortrag, gehalten vor der Nationalökonomischen gesellschaft in Wien am 22. februar 1929."