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Lorenz von Stein, 1815-1890.
German economist, social historian and social scientist, long-time professor of economics at the University of Vienna.
Lorenz Jacob Wasmer, Ritter von Stein was born in Eckenforde, Schleswig. He was educated in the schools of Flensberg. In 1835, Lorenz von Stein went on to study philosophy and law at the universities of Kiel and later Jena. In 1839, Stein moved to Copenhagen, taking up a civil service position in the Schleswig-Holstein office of the Danish government. But he soon returned to his studies, obtaining his doctorate at the University of Berlin. At the time, jurisprudence in Berlin was still in transition between the idealist school of late professor Hegel and the rising historical school of Savigny, and Lorenz von Stein absorbed both influences, and can be seen as a transitional figure of the German Historical School..
Lorenz von Stein lived in Paris in 1840-42, ostensibly researching the history of French law, but his interest was soon drawn to the rising French socialist movement. Lorenz von Stein consorted with socialist leaders and thinkers, like Étienne Cabet and Louis Blanc. From this experience, Lorenz von Stein produced his classic 1842 book, one of the first systematic studies of French socialism. Lorenz von Stein presented himself as a detached, neutral observer, rather than an advocate. It proved a sensation, and was a revelation for Central European intellectuals, otherwise unfamiliar, or even unaware, of the new industrial working class and their political ambitions. It was highly influential on the young Karl Marx, and prompted him to move to Paris himself in 1843.. Stein followed this up with his monumental three-volume 1850 treatise on the history of French social movements.
, and so is sometimes characterized as the father of German sociology.. Like Marx, Stein recognized that the industrial revolution and division of labor had set up conditions
In 1846, Lorenz von Stein obtained a position as extraordinary professor at the University of Kiel. Stein opposed the Danish instrument of 1850 that integrated the duchies Schleswig-Holstein into the Kingdom of Denmark. As a result, Stein, and eight other professors at Kiel, were dismissed in 1852 by the Danish authorities. Unable to find another academic position for a while, Stein moved to Vienna, Austria, where he was picked up by the Austrian finance minister Bruck. Lorenz von Stein was appointed Professor of Economics and Public Finance (""Nationalökonomie und Finanzwissenschaft") at the University of Vienna in 1855.
From his lectures at Kiel and Vienna, Lorenz von Stein produced a series of textbooks on political science (Staatswissenschaft, 1956), economics (Volkswirthschaft, 1858) and public finance (Finanzwissenschaft, 1860). Stein also produced a massive seven-volume treatise (1865-68) and handbook (1870) on public administration ("Verwaltungslehre"), widely regarded as a fundamental work of German sociology, at the intersection of Hegelian idealism and pragmatic statecraft..
Lorenz von Stein would continue teaching in Vienna down to his retirement in 1887, overlapping with the tenures of Albert Schäffle and Carl Menger.
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