The BĂŒcher-Meyer controversy : the nature of the ancient economy in modern ideology
The Bucher-Meyer Controversy is a famous debate about the fundamental character of the ancient economy. The disagreement arose with Karl Bucher's thesis that the ancient economy apparently never overcome the economic stage of the 'closed household economy', which the author formulated in his 1893 publication 'The Formation of the National Economy'. Bucher's stance stimulated immediately rigorous rejections from the elite scholars of ancient history. Eduard Meyer and Karl Julius Beloch both dismissed Bucher's claim being an unscientific and ill-founded description of the ancient economy. Both assumed instead that some periods in ancient history are economically comparable with early modern capitalism. Part I investigates the arguments on both sides and aims to highlight some initial understandings and methodological divergences between the opposed positions, which would have negative consequences for the future course of the debate. What initially may appear a highly subject specific debate with no wider academic relevance turned quickly into a bitter feud between the established historicist historiography, which dominated ancient history and the increasingly popular empiricist conceptual approaches in political
Reibig, AndreÌ
HC Economic History and Conditions
The BĂŒcher-Meyer controversy : the nature of the ancient economy in modern ideology. The Bucher-Meyer Controversy is a famous debate about the fundamental character of the ancient economy. The disagreement arose with Karl Bucher's thesis that the ancient economy apparently never overcome the economic stage of the 'closed household economy', which the author formulated in his 1893 publication 'The Formation of the National Economy'. Bucher's stance stimulated immediately rigorous rejections from the elite scholars of ancient history. Eduard Meyer and Karl Julius Beloch both dismissed Bucher's claim being an unscientific and ill-founded description of the ancient economy. Both assumed instead that some periods in ancient history are economically comparable with early modern capitalism. Part I investigates the arguments on both sides and aims to highlight some initial understandings and methodological divergences between the opposed positions, which would have negative consequences for the future course of the debate. What initially may appear a highly subject specific debate with no wider academic relevance turned quickly into a bitter feud between the established historicist historiography, which dominated ancient history and the increasingly popular empiricist conceptual approaches in political
meyer controversy nature ancient_economy modern ideology meyer controversy famous debate fundamental character ancient_economy disagreement arise ancient_economy apparently never overcome economic stage closed household economy author formulate publication the formation national economy stance stimulate immediately rigorous rejection elite scholar ancient_history meyer dismiss claim ill founded description ancient_economy assume instead period ancient_history economically comparable early_modern capitalism part investigate argument side aim_highlight initial understanding methodological divergence oppose position would negative consequence future course debate initially may appear highly subject specific debate wider academic relevance turn quickly bitter feud establish historicist historiography dominate ancient_history increasingly popular empiricist conceptual approach political