Why Is Werner Sombart Not Part of the Core of Classical Sociology

From Fame to (Near) Oblivion

Bibliographic Data

ID2404456
AuthorsReiner Grundmann (0000-0003-0266-9296, Aston University, corresponding author), N Stehr (0000-0002-4402-9679)
Year2001
Volume1
Issue2
Pages257-287
Publication date2001-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Classical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-795X • E-ISSN: 1741-2897
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14687950122232558
OpenAlexW2108917724
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited64

The life and work of Werner Sombart poses an intellectual puzzle in the genealogy of modern social theorists. During his lifetime, Sombart was probably the most influential and prominent social scientist in Germany as well as in many other countries. Today he is among the least known social scientists. Why did he lose his status as one of the most brilliant and influential scholars and intellectuals of the 20th century? Why is his work almost forgotten today? While Weber's thesis about the influence of Protestantism on the development of capitalism is widely known, even beyond sociological circles, few sociologists today know that Sombart had an alternative explanation. An obvious explanation for Sombart's fall from grace is his embrace of Nazism. As Heidegger provides a counter-example, Sombart's fate requires a more complex explanation. In addition, we explore the different reception of his work in economic and sociological circles as compared to cultural theory and history

Capitalism · Epistemology · Politics · Protestant work ethic · Social science · Social theory · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · German Social Sciences and History · Law · Philosophy · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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