Value judgments in Gustav Schmoller and Max Weber: public debates on the role of the social scientist
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of value
judgment controversies (Werturteilstreit) in the
writings of Gustav Schmoller and Max Weber
in the context of the later years of the German
Historical School of Economics. The perspective
of Schmoller is presented in relation to Weber,
who was once considered part of a later generation of the German Historical School. This paper sheds light upon aspects of the then-existing dispute over the scientific status of historical knowledge in the context of the emergence of the social sciences as separate disciplines. This allows a better understanding of the changes in political economy during the first quarter of the 20th century and how this might have played a role in the decline of the German Historical School from the main economic discourse.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ian Coelho de Souza Almeida, Rafael Galvão de Almeida
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