Abstract This paper intends to re-examine the reflections of Werner Sombart, Vilfredo Pareto and Emile Durkheim, who provide general guide to interpreting some crucial elements of the discussions on Marxism and socialism from 1895 to 1901. From November 1895 to May 1896, Durkheim starts a broad reflection on socialism and Saint-Simon in a course held at the University of Bordeaux, where he begins a comprehensive evaluation of the “history of Socialism”, including also the assessment of thinkers like Fourier, Proudhon, Lassalle and Marx. Sombart in 1896 publishes a collection of eight lectures held in Zurich, highlighting the link between his reflection on socialism and the analysis on “modern capitalism” he develops in Der moderne Kapitalismus. Pareto publishes Sistemi Socialisti in 1901, after a systematic reflection on socialism begun in 1896, which allows him to verify the categories and interpretative models he would adopt in his economic and sociological inquiries. The paper illustrates some aspects of this challenging confrontation, namely: the analysis of the methodology and interpretative power of the socialist theories; the features of “modern socialism” as a “social fact”; and the debates on the relationships between capitalism and socialism.
Economics and Sociology Meet Socialism: Sombart, Durkheim and Pareto
GIOIA, Vitantonio;
2017-01-01
Abstract
Abstract This paper intends to re-examine the reflections of Werner Sombart, Vilfredo Pareto and Emile Durkheim, who provide general guide to interpreting some crucial elements of the discussions on Marxism and socialism from 1895 to 1901. From November 1895 to May 1896, Durkheim starts a broad reflection on socialism and Saint-Simon in a course held at the University of Bordeaux, where he begins a comprehensive evaluation of the “history of Socialism”, including also the assessment of thinkers like Fourier, Proudhon, Lassalle and Marx. Sombart in 1896 publishes a collection of eight lectures held in Zurich, highlighting the link between his reflection on socialism and the analysis on “modern capitalism” he develops in Der moderne Kapitalismus. Pareto publishes Sistemi Socialisti in 1901, after a systematic reflection on socialism begun in 1896, which allows him to verify the categories and interpretative models he would adopt in his economic and sociological inquiries. The paper illustrates some aspects of this challenging confrontation, namely: the analysis of the methodology and interpretative power of the socialist theories; the features of “modern socialism” as a “social fact”; and the debates on the relationships between capitalism and socialism.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
