The debate about the nature of the ancient Greek economy: 19th century German scholarship and modern economic theory

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Abstract

Nineteenth century German thinkers have been instrumental in defining and shaping the debate about the nature of the ancient Greek economy. The present essay reviews the debate between primitivism and modernism and, following Max Weber’s contributions, its successor debate between substantivism and formalism. As this debate concerns the applicability of the rational choice model to the decision-making of the ancient actor, the paper also surveys questions about the role of institutions and ideology in explaining economic behaviour.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGerman-Greek Yearbook of Political Economy Volume 2 2019
Place of PublicationMunich
PublisherACCEDO Verlagsgesellschaft
Pages3-25
Number of pages25
VolumeVolume 2
ISBN (Print)978-3-88278-301-8
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 12 Aug 2019

Keywords

  • Ancient Greek economy; primitivism; modernism; substantivism; formalism; instrumental rationality; irrationality; ideology

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