ABSTRACT
Economic debates often prove to be proxies for political debates. The debate over socialization in central Europe took place in the wake of the economic and political collapse accompanying the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I. One of its most important crucibles was the pre-war seminar in economics held in Vienna under the auspices of Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk. Otto Neurath put forward the case for what was termed 'in-kind' calculation, which was intended to supersede monetary calculation and serve as the vehicle for transforming economies, like those of the various German states, into a 'natural economy'. In the contest between Neurath and Frederich von Hayek, the intellectual groundwork is largely epistemological, with information and communication at the center. The vastly increased ability to gather and sort information through technological developments in recent decades has presented a new challenge to Hayek's epistemic critique.
