Joseph A. Schumpeter · 1928
Schumpeter’s brief review assesses the edition of Rodbertus-Jagetzow’s letters to Schumacher prepared by R. Michels and E. Ackermann, published in 1926. Its central distinction is between the validity and fruitfulness of economic theory and a thinker’s historical importance. The review moves from a critical appraisal of Rodbertus’s intellectual legacy to praise for the edition’s account of his social setting and influence.
Unlike von Thünen, Rodbertus did not leave theoretical discoveries to which subsequent research repeatedly had to return. Schumpeter rejects his ground-rent theory as both false and sterile, expressly treating these as distinct judgments and invoking Bortkiewicz’s demonstration of its errors. This assessment also diminishes the importance of disputes about Rodbertus’s originality. Yet theoretical failure does not exhaust the question of significance:
Trotzdem gehört er zu den bedeutendsten Gestalten der deutschen Wirtschaftslehre.
English translation: Nevertheless he belongs among the most significant figures of German economic doctrine.
Schumpeter grounds that standing in Rodbertus’s practical position within a particular historical environment. His unusual combination of identities—a theorizing landed proprietor and socialist conservative—enabled him to attract followers who would have rejected any one of those identities in isolation, especially Marxian socialism. His importance thus lies in a distinctive capacity to mediate between otherwise incompatible social and intellectual allegiances.
That interpretation governs Schumpeter’s assessment of the edition:
Die Briefe selbst interessieren wohl nur den Spezialisten.
English translation: The letters themselves will probably interest only the specialist.
The letters’ limited audience contrasts with the broader interest of Michels’s introduction. Schumpeter praises its treatment of Rodbertus’s situated influence, its assessment of the effects he exerted, and its portraits of Rodbertus and his allies Meyer and Schumacher. Although a professional economic theorist might find omissions or grounds for objection, Schumpeter regards the historical task as exceptionally well accomplished.
Reiche Literaturangaben und ein Anhang, der interessante meist ganz unzugängliche Materialien vereinigt — so Dokumente bezüglich der Arbeiten der Rodbertus-Kommission zur Begutachtung des Rentenprinzips —, machen das Buch vollends zu einem wertvollen Hilfsmittel des Wirtschafts- und Sozialhistorikers.
English translation: Rich bibliographical references and an appendix which brings together interesting and for the most part quite inaccessible materials — such as documents concerning the labours of the Rodbertus Commission for the appraisal of the rent principle — make the book altogether a valuable aid for the economic and social historian.
The final recommendation follows from the review’s governing distinction: the edition matters chiefly as evidence for economic and social history. Its value is not a rehabilitation of Rodbertus’s rent theory, but a fuller account of the personality, alliances, and circumstances through which his ideas acquired influence.
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