Max Weber's critical response to theoretical economics

Abstract

Max Weber's work currently forms the centre of a strategy to rebuild heterodox thought around economic sociology. The instrumentalisation of Weber is based on a lack of understanding of his response to economic theory. This article seeks to fill this gap. It will show that Weber extended Menger's work by correcting its naturalism and that his critical response rests on a Kantian approach, as explained below. It appears that a pure non-Walrasian theory is therefore possible and that the heterodox reclaiming of Weber is based on a misinterpretation of his work.Weber, Menger, Kant, economic methodology, pure theory,

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“…A seemingly endless theoretical debate is centred upon evaluating Max Weber's contributions to the understanding of present-day economic sociology (Swedberg 1998;Peukert 2004;Ebner 2005;Parsons 2006;Mardellat 2009) and this is mainly related to the increased attention paid by scholars interested in addressing market processes and entrepreneurship.…”

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