Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Shiraz University
2 Shiraz university
3 Yasouj University
Abstract
Methodenstreit constituted a pivotal force in shaping the trajectory of the humanities during the 19th century, profoundly influencing the development of various social science and humanities disciplines, including sociology and economics. This research endeavor delves into the transformative impact of Max Weber's response to these methodological contentions, specifically his groundbreaking establishment of "social economics," in shaping the essence of the humanities. Weber's pivotal innovation lay in creating "economic sociology" as an intermediary layer bridging economic theory and history. The present study demonstrates that the Austrian School exhibited the most significant engagement with Weber's ideas, which persisted through the generations of von Hayek and his successors. The paper aims to illuminate the influence of Methodenstreit on Hayek's intellectual framework, positioning him as the inheritor of a distinct Austrian brand of social economics that simultaneously aligns with and diverges from Weber's social economics. Hayek's political economy upholds the spontaneous order of the free market as the sole path to social organization and, consequently, societal well-being. In contrast, Weber's social economics views this order as merely a normative choice. Building upon this insight, the present study offers implications for economic issues in Iran, proposing that Weber's social economics, due to its inherent flexibility in accommodating the spontaneous market order as a normative choice, holds greater precedence over Hayek's political economy in designing an appropriate economic and social system for Iran.
Keywords
)