Karl Paul Hensel

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Karl Paul Hensel (born January 24, 1907 in Jena , † April 20, 1975 in Marburg ) was one of the most influential German economists of the post-war period.

biography

After finishing school, Karl Paul Hensel began an apprenticeship as a carpenter until he came into contact with economics lectures for the first time in 1926 at the adult education center in Jena, which was then headed by Adolf Reichwein . The moving question "What is capitalism , what is socialism " motivated him to study economics in Berlin, Marburg and Freiburg, where he completed his doctoral examination in 1937. After a year of study at the London School of Economics and the war years, he resumed his academic work with Walter Eucken in Freiburg in 1947 and completed his habilitation in 1951 with the fundamental thesis "Introduction to the Theory of Central Administrative Economics ", with which he laid the foundation for his future created system comparative work and thus founded a series of publications that has existed to this day under the title "Writings on questions of order in the economy" with 105 volumes (Verlag DeGruyter, Berlin) since then.

In 1954 he founded the "Research Center for the Comparison of Economic Steering Systems" as a private lecturer at the University of Freiburg , which he took with him after his appointment as professor at the Philipps University of Marburg in 1957 and headed it until his death in 1975.

Hensel is considered to be the founder of the economic system comparison and thus of the so-called " Marburg School ". Under his guidance, a habilitation, around 90 dissertations and several hundred diploma theses on the problems of socialist countries and the comparison with market economies have been created. In numerous seminars he taught his students how to think in terms of order-theoretical and political alternatives for a factual system comparison . The focus of Hensel's scientific work was closely linked to the Philipps University of Marburg, which he also headed as rector in 1965/66. The confrontation of the two economic systems realized in post-war Germany was a particular scientific challenge for Hensel to examine the “basic forms of economic order: market economy - central administration economy” (the title of his book published in 1972) on a concrete object. This is also evidenced by his long-standing participation in the “Research Advisory Board for Questions relating to the Reunification of Germany”, which was dissolved in 1975 for political reasons. In the spring of 1968, Hensel invited his students to a doctoral seminar lasting several days in the small South Tyrolean mountain village of Radein, thus establishing a tradition that is still very popular today. After Hensel's death in 1975, his students founded the international research seminar Radein eV, which received great attention in Germany and internationally. It is still considered the oldest and only order-theoretical and system-comparing seminar of its kind in the German-speaking economic area and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 - always with close reference to the topics of its founding father Hensel.

The system comparison method established by K. Paul Hensel is still current and should be the basis for comparing different European and global economic and social systems.

Hensel was a member of the Verein für Socialpolitik , whose subtitle is "Society for Economic and Social Sciences", and of the Mont Pèlerin Society , an international association of liberal economists.

Works (selection)

  • Introduction to Central Administration Economy Theory. A comparative investigation of ideal-typical economic steering systems using the problem of economic calculation. Stuttgart 1959 [first edition 1954]. 3rd unchanged edition 1979, Gustav Fischer Verlag , ISBN 3-437-50238-7
  • Basic Law - Economic Regulations. An order theoretical study. 1963.
    • reprinted in: Nils Goldschmidt, Michael Wohlgemuth (Hrsg.): Basic texts on the Freiburg tradition of order economics. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008. pp. 255-272.
  • Basic forms of the economic order . Beck: 1st ed. 1972, 2nd revised. Ed. 1974, 3rd revised. Aufl. 1978. Lit Publisher : 4. Unänd. Ed. 1992, 5th unchanged. 2015 edition ( ISBN 9783643125903 )
  • System comparison as a task. Fischer, Stuttgart 1977.

literature

  • Alfred Schüller: "Introduction" [to reprint by Karl Paul Hensels: Basic Law - Economic Regulations. An order theoretical study. (1963)], in: Nils Goldschmidt, Michael Wohlgemuth (Hrsg.): Basic texts on the Freiburg tradition of order economics. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008, pp. 249-254.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Radein seminar. Retrieved January 9, 2020 (German).
personal data
SURNAME Hensel, Karl Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German economist
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Jena
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 1975
Place of death Marburg