Albert Schäffle

Alöbert Schäffle (1831-1903) was not only an eminent economist and skilful politician, he served briefly as Austria's Secretary of Commerce, but he was also what can be called an academic entrepreneur who managed to turn the venerable 'Zeitschrift für die gesamten Staatswissenschaften' into a profitable venture. Although he used the human body as an analogue of the body politic, he was not a precursor of socio-biology. He followed Francois Quesnay, Adam Smith, the Cameralists (Justis) an many others in using the human body as a model for emphasizing the interconnections between economy, polity and society. This book collects essays on Schäffle's legacy for political economy broadly considered.