Im Sog des Egalitären - Ökonomisches Denken und der Wandel gesellschaftlicher Ordnungsvorstellungen in der Sattelzeit. Dissertationsschrift

'Das Ökonomische' - eine unhintergehbare Kategorie gesellschaftlicher Ordnungsvorstellungen um 1800

Die interdisziplinäre Studie widmet sich dem Verhältnis von »ökonomischem Denken« und dem Wandel gesellschaftlicher Ordnungsvorstellungen um 1800. Aufbauend auf einer theoretischen und ideengeschichtlichen Rekonstruktion »des Ökonomischen« wird dabei anhand physiokratischer, konservativer und romantischer Quellen empirisch gezeigt, dass sich der Diskurs »des Ökonomischen« - trotz des jeweils unterschiedlichen Blicks auf Staat, Gesellschaft und Individuum - als unhintergehbarer Bezugsrahmen erweist. Die Herausbildung spezifisch »moderner« Vorstellungen gesellschaftlicher Ordnung vollzieht sich somit im Modus »ökonomischen Denkens«, eines Denkens »im Sog des Egalitären«, das zwar die traditionell herausgehobenen »liberalen« Ansätze à la Smith umfasst, sich darin jedoch keineswegs erschöpft. In recent decades intellectual history as well as political and social theory had argued, that the years around 1800 had to be considered as a period of fundamental conceptual change, in which th e framework of early modern society gradually disappeard, while a new understanding of describing and constructing social order emerged. Taking this into account the study intends to illustrate - on the basis of a philosophical reconstruction of "the economic" and the empirical analysis of pyhsiocratic, conservative and romantic sources of german political discourse between 1770 and 1820 - that "economic thinking" constituted a coherent and common reference, to which political and social "languages" refered to - regardless of their different conception of social order en detail. Thus, the formation of "modern" political and social thinking evolved as "economic thinking" - a specific and in fact "unescapable" discourse of dealing with the relation between individuals, society and state, which can not be reduced solely to a "liberal" or "Smithian" social theory.

In recent decades intellectual history as well as political and social theory had argued, that the years around 1800 had to be considered as a period of fundamental conceptual change, in which the framework of early modern society gradually disappeard, while a new understanding of describing and constructing social order emerged. Taking this into account the study intends to illustrate on the basis of a philosophical reconstruction of the economic and the empirical analysis of pyhsiocratic, conservative and romantic sources of german political discourse between 1770 and 1820 that economic thinking constituted a coherent and common reference, to which political and social languages refered to regardless of their different conception of social order en detail. Thus, the formation of modern political and social thinking evolved as economic thinking - a specific and in fact unescapable discourse of dealing with the relation between individuals, society and state, which can not be redu ced solely to a liberal or Smithian social theory.