Wilhelm Röpke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wilhelm Röpke
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| Born | October 10, 1899 Schwarmstedt, German Empire
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| Died | February 12, 1966 (aged 66) |
| Resting place | Cologny |
| Nationality | German |
| Institution | University of Marburg, Istanbul University, Graduate Institute of International Studies |
| Field | |
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Ordoliberalism Conservative liberalism |
| Alma mater | University of Marburg |
| Influences | Böhm-Bawerk · Hayek · Mises · Rüstow · Strigl |
| Contributions | Theoretical foundation of the German economic miracle |
Wilhelm Röpke (October 10, 1899 – February 12, 1966) was a German economist and social critic. He is known as one of the main thinkers behind the "social market economy" idea. This idea helped rebuild Germany's economy after World War II.
Röpke was a professor of economics in several cities. These included Jena, Graz, Marburg, Istanbul, and Geneva, Switzerland. He helped create the plan for Germany's economic comeback. This plan is sometimes called "sociological neoliberalism." It was a type of liberalism that focused on society.
He worked with other important thinkers like Alfred Müller-Armack and Alexander Rüstow. Their ideas were put into action by Ludwig Erhard. Erhard was Germany's Minister for Economics after World War II. He worked under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Röpke and his friends' economic ideas are a big reason for Germany's ""economic miracle"." This was a time of fast economic growth. Röpke was also a historian and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wilhelm Röpke was born on October 10, 1899. His father was a country doctor. His parents were strong Protestants and believed in liberal politics. From 1917, he studied law and economics. He went to universities in Göttingen, Tübingen, and Marburg.
In 1921, he finished his main doctoral studies. In 1922, he completed a special process called habilitation. This allowed him to teach as a professor. Later in 1922, he became a professor at the University of Jena. He was the youngest professor in Germany at that time.
He then visited the USA as a professor for the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1928, he got a job at the University of Graz. In 1929, he moved to Philipps University in Marburg. He taught there as a professor of political economy until 1933.
Life in Exile
Röpke did not agree with the National Socialist government in Germany. Because of this, he and his family left Germany in 1933. They moved to Istanbul, Turkey. He taught there until 1937.
After that, he took a job at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He lived in Geneva, Switzerland, until he passed away in 1966.
Economic Ideas and Contributions
When he was young, Röpke was first interested in socialism. Later, he was inspired by Ludwig von Mises, an economist from the Austrian School. However, Röpke's ideas for Germany's economic recovery were different from Mises's.
Röpke and his allies, like Walter Eucken and Alexander Rüstow, created a new way of thinking called ordoliberalism. They supported free trade. But they also believed that the central bank and the government should have more influence. This was more influence than what Austrian School economists usually suggested.
Röpke and the ordoliberalists thought that a market economy could sometimes be unfair or harsh. They believed that the government needed to step in to help. Röpke thought that free markets could bring wealth but might also cause social problems. So, he saw a bigger role for the government. The government should set rules, make sure there is fair competition, and provide basic social help.
During the Great Depression, Röpke wrote a book called Crises and Cycles. He argued that a big drop in prices needed to be fixed by government spending. He still believed in local control and did not like Keynesian economics. He called it a "typical intellectual idea" that forgot about real people.
Röpke believed that rights and good moral habits were very important. He thought the government and central bank should help organize these things. He wanted an economic system that was "economic humanism." He also called this the "Third Way." This system would protect weaker people and make sure rules were fair.
Röpke strongly believed in a society where human rights were most important. He felt that individualism (focusing on the individual) needed to be balanced. It should be balanced with a strong sense of community and humanity. His economic ideas were very similar to Catholic social teaching. As he got older, Röpke valued spirituality more. He saw its benefits compared to societies where it was ignored.
Influence on Germany
From 1930 to 1931, Röpke was part of a government group. This group looked into unemployment. From 1947 to 1948, he was on Germany's council for currency reform. Röpke also gave advice to Konrad Adenauer, the Chancellor of West Germany. He also advised Ludwig Erhard, the Minister of Economics. He did this until the late 1950s. Because of this, he is given credit for the ideas behind Germany's famous "Economic Miracle."
After World War II, the Western Allies (USA, Britain, France) controlled West Germany. They kept rationing food and goods. They also controlled wages and prices. They printed too much paper money. This caused production to stop. Business people did not want the almost worthless money. This led to shortages and a black market where people traded goods.
Röpke's book The Solution to the German Problem (1947) showed the problems with these policies. He suggested getting rid of price controls. He also wanted to replace the old money with a new, more trusted currency.
So, price and wage controls were slowly removed. On June 21, 1948, the new Deutsche Mark was introduced. These changes caused some problems at first. Unemployment went up, and there was some public unrest. But Ludwig Erhard, supported by Röpke's writings, kept going. This was a big success for Röpke. He and his allies had helped make West Germany strong against communism.
Röpke was president of the Mont Pelerin Society from 1961 to 1962. But he had disagreements with Friedrich August von Hayek. He then left his position and ended his membership.
Works
- Crises and Cycles (1936)
- International Economic Disintegration (1942)
- Civitas Humana (1944)
- The German Question (1946)
- The Social Crisis of Our Time (1950)
- International Order and Economic Integration (1959)
- A Humane Economy: The Social Framework of the Free Market (1960)
- Economics of the Free Society (1963)
- Against the Tide (1969); a collection of essays published after his death
- Two Essays by Wilhelm Roepke (1987)
See also
In Spanish: Wilhelm Röpke para niños
- Contributions to liberal theory
- Liberalism
- Liberalism in Germany
