Plan of Research on Economic Institutions in Primitive, Ancient and Early Medieval Society (1948?)

2. Field and Scope

Research with a broadly similar purpose, if on a much larger scale, was undertaken a quarter century ago by Max Weber in his opus magnum, 'Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft'. Properly the field was economic history in general (rather than general economic history), the focus was the market. The intent was to create conceptual tools which would enable us to deal with economic history, its events, developments, institutions, while the outlook was oriented on what Weber called the progressive 'rationalization' of the major spheres of social activity, leading up in our time to the establishment of market-economy. Weber achieved his main results nos as a historian but as a sociologist, by combining methods of social and economic theory, analytical and institutional, with those of economic history.

The hope of advancing this inquiry, mainly on secondary sources, beyond the secular landmarks set up by Weber rests on (a) secretion of vital knowledge through the new discipline of primitive economics as developed by social anthropologists; (b) a more attitude towards the inherent rationality of market institutions than may have seemed warranted in this time.

Accordingly, emphasis is laid on two features of the subject: (a) the overlapping of preliterate society with ancient and early medieval civilization, in their economic aspects; (b) the singular position occupied by the market system in society. […]

[2] … Results suitable for publication should be available by Summer 1949.

Documents Informations

Date: 1948?
KPA: 31/15, 1-3