Abstract:
Based on some of Carl Menger's publications, his estate and archives, this article examines how the Austrian School relates to the thought of Adam Smith. Was Menger an heir of Smith, as Gustav Schmoller, leader of the German Historical School and Menger's arch-enemy, insinuated? Was there indeed a positive filiation, traceable in allusions to classical liberal views that the new marginalist Austrian economics would employ? And, generalizing from this: Are Austrians heirs to the British classical school? Some later members of the Austrian school, to begin with Friedrich Hayek, would indeed claim to be heirs to both Smith and Menger. Can one trace some genuinely Austrian ideas back to classical economics? Or are they incompatible? And to which extent did Menger oppose Smith? One result of the inquiry undertaken in this article is that while both should be labelled "liberals," this qualifier does not apply to them in the same manner.