Kapital und Produktion (Meilensteine der Nationalökonomie)

by Richard von Strigl

„Die folgenden Untersuchungen über die Rolle des Kapitals in der Produktion beruhen auf dem Satze von der Mehrergiebigkeit der Produktionsumwege und auf der mit diesem eng verbundenen Lohnfondstheorie […] Ich habe in erster Linie darauf Wert gelegt, […] die Lehre vom Kapital in eine gesamtwirtschaftliche Betrachtung einzubauen." Seinem Vorwort gemäß stellt der Autor in diesem Buch, das 1934 erstmalig erschienen ist, den Zusammenhang zwischen Kapital, Preisbildung, Konjunktur, und Produktion umfassend dar.

Genres: Economics

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1934

Reviews

[Parasuram Venkatesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of capital is an elusive one. The only satisfactory definition is the recursive/tautological "that which is used as capital". Yet von Strigl pulls off a great balancing act between intuition and rigour in this piece. I do not fully understand capital theory or the idea of 'roundabout' processes that is so essential to it, but this is a damn good start. Even among the fringe, heteredox Austrians, von Strigl has been overshadowed by Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, etc. and to be sure Mises' work on business cycle theory is much more refined, but Strigl's is a product of its time, and work of beauty at that. The problem with the mainstream is not that they aren't praxeologists, but that they do not have a well-formed notion of capital.

"Owning capital equipment can never in itself represent wealth; it only becomes wealth if it can be integrated into the structure of production. However, if one overlooks this, if one attempts to protect the value of factory equipment even if it does not operate economically, then one invests ever more capital in a place where it is lost from the outset"

[Kristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't give this a five because it was more difficult than I had anticipated, I did feel somewhat inadequate when I read this the first time...perhaps the second time is the charm? I forget who said it but Austrian capital theory is truly a black hole that economists can fall into and never escape.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important contribution