Ludwig Maurits Lachmann (; ; 1 February 1906 – 17 December 1990) was a German economist, economic theorist and important contributor to the Austrian School of Economics. Lachmann, Israel Kirzner, and Murray Rothbard were the three primary catalysts of the Austrian 'revival', beginning in 1974. He wrote on economic theory, history, and methodology, as well as on the application of Hermeneutics to economic thought, in order to interpret economic phenomena.

Life

Early life

Ludwig Lachmann was born in Berlin, Germany on 1 February 1906 into a Jewish middle-class family. His father was a metal manufacturer, and his mother came from an intellectual background and had a strong influence on young Ludwig. His mother's brother, a bank official, also had a strong influence upon his nephew's early intellectual development. Ludwig was an only child, and initially was educated by his mother, but was later enrolled in . His childhood years are generally described as happy, which would contrast with his later life in Germany, surrounded by constant political and economic instability and crisis.

Education and 'pre-revival' career

Lachmann enrolled at the University of Berlin in 1924, studying under, among others, Werner Sombart, who introduced Lachmann to the works of Weber, that had a lifelong influence on Lachmann's work. He took a semester at the University of Zurich in 1926, and around the same time, he was introduced into the works of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. He graduated in 1930, and spent a few years to teach at the university. When Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, Lachmann moved to England with his girlfriend Margot. The couple struggled financially, and Lachmann, unable to find a post in an academic position, enrolled at the London School of Economics. At the London School of Economics he was a student and later colleague of Friedrich Hayek. One of Lachmann's fellow students was George Shackle, whose ideas would influence Lachmann's later work. He deepened his interest in the Austrian School, and was one of the few who chose Hayek's side, though not uncritically, following the so-called 'Keynesian Revolution'. He remained teaching at Witwatersrand until retiring in 1972.

Austrian 'revival', 1974–1987 and death

In 1974, a conference on Austrian economics was organized in South Royalton, Vermont, in which Lachmann was a key speaker, along with Israel Kirzner and Murray Rothbard. This conference led to the publication of the 1976 book, The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics, to which Lachmann contributed. Following the conference, Lachmann began annual trips to New York City, where he worked with Kirzner at NYU, advancing research and lecturing to students. Lachmann continued this work from 1975 to 1987, when he re-retired to Johannesburg. Lachmann died on 17 December 1990. To commemorate Lachmann, his widow established a trust to fund the Ludwig M. Lachmann Research Fellowship at the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method of the London School of Economics.

Personal life

Lachmann met his future wife, Margot Wulff, in the late 20's at an Italian language class. They ran into each other again in Sankt Moritz, and began a relationship. When their financial situation became secure, the couple got married in England, in 1939. Their marriage was described as, "a successful match," by Ludwig's former colleague, Karl Mittermaier.

Lachmann himself has been described as "a very unusual man" and an "old world European gentleman"

Contemporary social science research

Lachmann's ideas continue to influence contemporary social science research. Many social scientific disciplines explicitly or implicitly build on the subjective theory of value, developed by Carl Menger and the Austrian School of Economics.

Selected bibliography

  • The Role of Expectations in Economics as a Social Science, 1943
  • Capital and Its Structure, 1956
  • From Mises to Shackle: an essay on Austrian economics and the Kaleidic society, 1976
  • The Market as an Economic Process, 1986
  • Austrian Economics: a hermeneutic approach, 1990

See also

  • Kaleidics
  • Austrian School
  • Post-Keynesian School

References

Further reading

  • (Biographical aspects)
  • (on Lachmann's view of government)
  • Critique on The History of Economic Thought Website, cepa.newschool.edu
  • "The Kaleidic World of Ludwig Lachmann," Review of The Market as an Economic Process by Roger Garrison, Critical Review vol. 1, no. 3 (Summer), 1987, pp. 77–89.
  • "The Lachmann Legacy: An Agenda for Macroeconomics," Roger Garrison