Keynes's German Contenders 1932-1944: On the Sociology of Multiple Discoveries in Economics

Abstract

In a pathbreaking study on some alleged anticipations of Keynes''s General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Don Patinkin in apparently applying Merton''s sociological approach to the problem of anticipations and multiples in economics, rejects Kalecki and the Stockholm School as anticipators. Patinkin''s contribution has a dual significance in improving our understanding of Keynesian economics, on the one hand, and in suggesting a novel approach to the sociology of economics on the other. This paper is concerned with Patinkin''s sociology. His approach by emphasizing the "central message" of a particular work, neglects the received sociological theory of knowledge in a way that compromises his entire investigation. This contention is illustrated by looking at Keynes''s German contenders. They had anticipated Keynesian theories and applied them in the years before the General Theory was published. Nevertheless, they rejected aspects of Keynesian economics after the appearanced the General Theory. True to his narrowly focussed approach, Patinkin could not analyze this body of work, which both anticipated and extended the General Theory. Keynes''s central message significantly differed from that of his contenders.public economics ;