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There has long existed a two-way relationship between Austrian economics and the phenomenological movement.¹Although a great deal of research into the intricacies of this relationship remains still to be carried out, a number of its more salient features are now fairly well known (as least in specialized circles). In the earlier part of this century the interaction between the two schools of thought centered mainly around the relationship between Husserl's disciple, Alfred Schutz, and members of thePrivatseminarconducted by Ludwig von Mises, the leading representative of the third generation of Austrian economists. This was an intimate group of economists and other intellectuals who throughout the 1920s gathered for biweekly meetings in Mises' office at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. Their discussions focussed largely on issues having to do with the status of economics as a human science.²Schutz contributed to these discussions by attempting to provide a philosophical (phenomenological) basis for Austrian economics (Schutz's version of the notion of "ideal types" figuring prominently in this regard).³This early phase of the interaction between Austrian economics and phenomenology came to an unfortunate end when in the years leading up to World War II the main participants in the conversation dispersed to various parts of the world.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-0750-4_9

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