ABSTRACT
Any investigation of the origins of the Austrian school of economics is, of course, not complete without an analysis of the theoretical and methodological work of the other two economists of the first generation, Friedrich von Wieser and Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk. If the general thrust of Wieser's methodology therefore seems to be very much in line with that of Menger, he departs, nevertheless, in several important aspects from Menger's scientific conception of social reality: Wieser's conception of the Geisteswissenschaften lacks Menger's essentialist dimension. As this very brief discussion of Wieser's methodology shows, it does not really correspond to Menger's conception of the Geisteswissenschaften and social science. On methodological grounds alone, Wieser's re-interpretation of Menger's economic theory makes his equating Menger with Jevons and Walras perfectly acceptable. The crucial point of Bohm-Bawerk's departure from Menger's theory is his emphasis of the technological dimension in both his theory of value and his theory of production, and hence also his theory of capital.
