Wilhelm Röpke | |
|---|---|
 Röpke in 1950 | |
| Born | (1899-10-10)10 October 1899 |
| Died | 12 February 1966(1966-02-12) (aged 66) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Marburg |
| Influences | Smith ·Böhm-Bawerk ·Hayek ·Mises ·Rüstow ·Strigl |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | |
| School or tradition | Ordoliberalism Conservatism[1] |
| Institutions | University of Marburg,Istanbul University,Geneva Graduate Institute |
| Notable ideas | Theoretical foundation of theGerman economic miracle |
Wilhelm Röpke (German:[ˈvɪlˌhɛlmˈʁœpkə]; 10 October 1899 – 12 February 1966) was a Germaneconomist andsocial critic, one of the spiritual fathers of thesocial market economy. A professor of economics, first inJena, then inGraz,Marburg,Istanbul, and finallyGeneva, Röpke theorised and collaborated to organise the post-World War II economic re-awakening of the war-wrecked German economy, deploying a program referred to asordoliberalism, a moreconservative variant of Germanliberalism.[2]
WithAlfred Müller-Armack andAlexander Rüstow (sociological neoliberalism) andWalter Eucken andFranz Böhm (ordoliberalism) he elucidated the ideas, which then were introduced formally by Germany's post-World War II Minister for EconomicsLudwig Erhard, operating underKonrad Adenauer's Chancellorship.[2] Röpke and his colleagues' economic influence therefore is considered largely responsible for enabling Germany's post-World War II"economic miracle". Röpke was also a historian and was nominated to theNobel Prize in Literature in 1965.[3]
Röpke was born in to the family of a rural doctor. His parents were devout Protestants and politically liberal.[4] From 1917 he studied law and economics at the universities of Göttingen, Tübingen and Marburg. In 1921 he defended his doctoral thesis, and in 1922 he successfully completed the habilitation procedure for his doctoral degree at the University of Marburg. In 1922 he received a professorship at theUniversity of Jena, becoming the youngest professor in Germany. This was followed by a stay in the US as a visiting professor for theRockefeller Foundation, in 1928 an appointment at theUniversity of Graz and in 1929 an appointment at the Philipps University in Marburg, where he worked until 1933 as a professor of political economy.[5]
Röpke's opposition to the GermanNational Socialist regime led him (with his family) in 1933 to emigrate toIstanbul,Turkey, where he taught until 1937, before accepting a position at theGeneva Graduate Institute,[6] where he lived until his death, in 1966.[7]
In his youth, Röpke was first inspired bysocialism and afterwards by theAustrian School economistLudwig von Mises.[8] Despite this, thepost-World War II economic liberation enabling Germany to once again lead Europe, which Röpke and his allies (Walter Eucken,Franz Böhm,Alfred Müller-Armack andAlexander Rüstow) were the intellectual muscle behind, occurred by implementing policy divergent to that advocated byLudwig von Mises. Though the two men shared some beliefs in certain areas, Röpke and his colleagues instead formed the school ofordoliberalism and advocatedfree trade but with morecentral bank and state influence than what Austrian School economists suggest is required.[9] Unlike many mainstream Austrian School economists, Röpke and theordoliberals conceded that themarket economy can be more disruptive and inhumane unless intervention is permitted a role to play.[citation needed]
FollowingAlexander Rüstow, Röpke concluded that free markets' vaunted efficiency and affluence can exact social and spiritual forfeits. In consequence, he envisioned a positive and more extensive role for the state, as rulemaker, enforcer of competition, and provider of basic social security.[8]
During the Great Depression, Röpke argued inCrises and Cycles that a secondary deflation had to be combated through a fiscal reflation. It has been argued that the secondary deflation essentially is the same phenomenon that Taiwanese-American economistRichard C. Koo in later years has denoted as abalance sheet recession.[10] In spite of this, however, Röpke remained a political decentralist and rejectedKeynesian economics, deriding it as "a typically intellectual construction that forgets the social reality behind the integral calculus".[8][11][12]
For Röpke,rights andmoral habits (Sitte) were key elements which theCentral Bank and State (opposed to theMarket-Economy) needed to subtly help organise. With a "conforming" social, economic, and financial policy, the task of which is to protect the weak "beyond the market," to equalize interests, set rules of the game, and limit market power, Röpke strove for an economic order of "economichumanism," something which he also referred to as the "Third Way."
Röpke stood for a society and social policy in whichhuman rights are given the highest importance. He believed thatindividualism must be balanced by a well-thought-out principle of sociality and humanity. Significantly, Röpke's economic thought is highly congruent withCatholic social teaching. As he grew older, Röpke increasingly appreciated the overall, general benefits of a society that embraces spirituality, particularly in contrast to societies where spirituality is marginalized or demonized.[8]
Röpke is also known for his pro-apartheid views on South Africa. In 1964, he publishedSouth Africa: An Attempt at a Positive Appraisal, which argued that apartheid was justified because the 'South African Negro' was not only of 'an utterly different race' but 'a completely different type and level of civilisation'.[13] Taking a position opposed to many Western governments, Röpke also supported the 1965 unilateral declaration of independence of Rhodesia, the racially-segregated southern African territory, from the British Empire.
In particular, from 1930 to 1931, Röpke served on a government commission examining unemployment and, from 1947 to 1948, he served on Germany's post-World War II currency reform council.[9] Furthermore, Röpke personally advised the Chancellor of (post-World War II)West Germany,Konrad Adenauer, and his Minister of Economics,Ludwig Erhard up until the late 1950s, and therefore is credited with contributing the intellectual backbone of the now famousGerman Economic "Miracle".[8]
Occupying West Germany following the conclusion ofWorld War II, the Western Allies (the US, Britain, and France) had continued to implement an economic policy of rationing as well as wage and price controls, coupled with the continued excessive printing of paper money. Production consequently collapsed and prominent businessmen once again became unwilling to accept the (relatively) worthless currency, triggering widespread shortages and the mainstreaming of a grey-market barter economy. Röpke'sThe Solution to the German Problem (1947) illuminated the negative implications of the Western Allies' continuing of Hitler's economic policies. Instead, Röpke proposed abolishing price controls and replacing the reichsmark with a sound, more trustworthy currency.
Accordingly, price and wage controls were then incrementally abolished and on June 21, 1948, the newDeutsche Mark was introduced. These long-range policy initiatives, however, spawned some civil unrest immediately following their implementation because of a consequent increase in unemployment. Despite these disturbances and stoically supported by Röpke's learned newspaper writings, the Minister of EconomicsLudwig Erhard persevered with foresight, and this eventually amounted to "a great personal vindication for Röpke": Röpke and his allies had "made West Germany immune to communism".[9]
He was president of theMont Pelerin Society from 1961 to 1962. But as a result of a long quarrel withFriedrich August von Hayek he stepped down and terminated his membership in it.[14]
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