This book examines the largely-neglected shift in Max Weber’s work from political economy to economic sociology. Considering the importance of his recognition—made during his research on the Protestant Ethic—of the reciprocal influences that exist between economics and society and the role of this realization in prompting him to rethink the study of political economy, the author sheds fresh light on his emerging belief that the study of the relationship between economic factors and social issues required a new discipline. A study that charts an important development in the thought of one of the founding figures of sociology, this volume will appeal to scholars of social theory with interests in the history of the field and the legacy of Max Weber.


This book explores the thought of the three ‘founding’ members of the Austrian School of economics: Carl Menger, Friedrich von Wieser, and Eugen Böhm-Bawerk, considering the overlapping and specialization of their work on money, value, and capital. Offering an incisive overview of the work of three important, but often-neglected figures, the author sheds fresh light on the transition from Adam Smith’s economics and the thought of the German School, to modern economic theory, considering also the influence of the Austrian School on the work of Max Weber. As such, it will appeal to scholars with interests in the history of ideas, economic theory, political economy, and social theory.