Schumpeter’s German review assesses Birck’s textbook through the tension between pedagogical effectiveness and analytical completeness. Its title requires clarification: “marginal value” identifies the organizing principle of an introduction to economic theory, not a narrowly bounded subject.
Die Worte marginal value sollen nur das verwendete Grundprinzip andeuten.
English translation: The words marginal value are meant only to indicate the fundamental principle employed.
The book’s principal achievement is to connect theoretical foundations with concrete economic detail. Schumpeter values material that elementary instruction often neglects, because it enables readers to apply general propositions without losing sight of their structure.
Und zugleich versteht es der Autor ganz vortrefflich, sein Detail so zu bringen, daß es nicht abschreckt oder ermüdet oder verwirrt und die großen Linien verschwinden läßt.
English translation: And at the same time the author understands quite excellently how to present his detail in such a way that it does not repel or fatigue or confuse and let the broad lines disappear.
Simple diagrams, restrained discussion of controversies, and avoidance of methodological digressions reinforce this instructional purpose. Yet Schumpeter distinguishes accessibility from preparation for advanced analysis. The omissions concern not merely refinements but substantial results of more recent theory; the book provides an introduction rather than a sufficient basis for further theoretical work.
His examination of its five-part organization begins with the first and fifth books before turning to the central three. In the first, he welcomes the practical introduction to utility and prefers that terminology to the ambiguous designation “theory of value.” Integrating international value formation into the foundations offers an alternative to beginning with Robinson Crusoe. Nevertheless, Birck unnecessarily exposes the exposition to objections about hedonism and insufficiently emphasizes its provisional, approximate character. The treatment of imputation earns a more decisive endorsement:
Mir will scheinen, wie wenn die Zurechnungstheorie gar nie so viel Widerspruch gefunden haben würde, wenn ihre Begründer sie so geschickt einzuführen gewußt hätten wie unser Autor.
English translation: It seems to me as though the theory of imputation would never have met with so much opposition had its founders known how to introduce it as skilfully as our author does.
This judgment gives pedagogy theoretical significance: resistance to an argument may reflect how it is introduced, not simply its substance. Birck’s achievement lies in making difficult conceptual relations intelligible.
The fifth book, Manipulated Prices, receives particular praise for moving from firm foundations to practical questions involving tariffs, monopoly, connected prices, and technical components. The image of Münchhausen pulling himself upward by his own pigtail makes the problem of mutual tariff protection memorable. Such teaching devices exemplify Schumpeter’s preference for explanations that remain available to learners when they confront actual economic problems.
The middle books develop price theory and its application to distribution. Here Schumpeter identifies shortcomings in the treatment of demand and supply curves, consumer and producer surplus, returns, and monetary theory. He nevertheless distinguishes the limitations of the presentation from those of its author: individual observations suggest knowledge extending beyond the deliberately simplified exposition.
The recommendation of a German translation, with an index and fuller contents, confirms the review’s favorable balance. Schumpeter recognizes an unusually effective introduction while preserving a demanding distinction between practical economic understanding and analytical mastery.
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