When Science Meets Revolution: The Influence of Rosa Luxemburg on Oskar Lange’s Early Project (1931–1945)

Abstract

Oskar Lange’s great breadth of interest (in the period 1931–1945) has generally been interpreted as evidence that he was an eclectic economist who cherry-picked between marginal analysis and Marxian economics. However, a consistent and alternative interpretation becomes possible once we take into account that mainstream economic theory and Marxian economics constituted two halves of a unique scientific project which included a relevant critical dimension.