The Invisible Hand Economic Thought Yesterday and Today
The economies of the European Union are today highly integrated. Constitutive part of this high degree of integration is the euro which unites most of the Member Stateswithintheeuro-zone. Inordertoensureprosperityandstabilityofthis Union in the spirit of
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Ulrich van Suntum
THE INVISIBLE HAND Economic Thought Yesterday and Today Translated by Caroline Hemingway
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Professor Dr. Ulrich van Suntum University of Muenster Am Stadtgraben 9 48143 Muenster, Germany [email protected]
We kindly thank “Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft”, Köln, for subsidizing this book. We kindly thank Ludwig-Erhard-Stiftung e.V., Bonn, for subsidizing this book.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004117907
ISBN 3-540-20497-0 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: Erich Kirchner Production: Helmut Petri Printing: Strauss Offsetdruck SPIN 10970898
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Foreword
The economies of the European Union are today highly integrated. Constitutive part of this high degree of integration is the euro which unites most of the Member States within the euro-zone. In order to ensure prosperity and stability of this Union in the spirit of the European Stability and Growth Pact, economic policies in both the Union and its Member States need to be monitored and co-ordinated appropriately. This applies in particular also because of the enlargement process which adds a further dimension to the continuous challenge of having to deal with different economic policy concepts and traditions in our Union. Understanding the economic and socio-political debates in the individual Member States of the Union and elsewhere requires a solid knowledge not only of the economic but also of the social and historical background of these debates. In economics, more than in the natural sciences, human norms and conflicts play a central role in addition to logical relationships and empirical findings. Therefore, looking only at economic formulae and empirical facts will not be enough. Most economic textbooks, especially from the Anglo-Saxon area, tend to concentrate more on the technically correct and often model-based presentation of their subject-matter than on its socio-political background. However, in view of the significance of economic reality for every citizen in Europe, it is als
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