Eduard Magnus Mortier Heimann (11 July 1889 – 31 May 1967) was a German economist and social scientist who advocated
ethical socialist programs in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the 1920s and later in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He was hostile to capitalism but thought it was possible to combine the advantages of a market economy with those of socialism through competing economic units governed by strong state controls.
Life
Eduard Magnus Mortier Heimann was born in 1889. He came from a merchant family with Jewish origins. His father,
Hugo Heimann
Hugo Heimann (15 April 1859 – 23 February 1951) was a German publisher and Social Democratic politician.
Biography
Heimann was born in Konitz, Prussia (Chojnice, Poland), the son of Eduard (1818–1861) and Marie Heimann. The family moved t ...
was a publisher who served as a
Social Democrat
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
(SPD) member of the Berlin City Council, the
Prussian House of Representatives
The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the House of ...
and the National Parliament of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
, or
Reichstag until 1932. Heimann studied economics under
Franz Oppenheimer
Franz Oppenheimer (March 30, 1864 – September 30, 1943) was a German Jewish sociologist and political economist, who published also in the area of the fundamental sociology of the state.
Life and career
After studying medicine in Freiburg and ...
and
Alfred Weber
Alfred Weber (; 30 July 1868 – 2 May 1958) was a German economist, geographer, sociologist and theoretician of culture whose work was influential in the development of modern economic geography.
Life
Alfred Weber, younger brother of the ...
. He became a
Christian Socialist
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...
.
Although Heimann was attracted to the
German Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement (german: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement ...
, he supported the SPD in the
November Revolution of 1918
November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. Nov ...
. Early in 1919, the provisional government in Berlin made him general secretary of the Socialization Commission. In Easter 1923 Heimann spoke to a group of young socialists demonstrating against the French occupation of the Ruhr. He stressed the spiritual aspects of socialism in his speech. Heimann was a professor of theoretical and practical social economics at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...
from 1925 to 1933.
In the 1920s, Heimann tried to convince the Social Democrats to follow an ethical socialist program of greatly expanded social programs and improvements to working conditions. From 1930 he was co-editor of the ''Neue Blätter fūr den Socialismus'' with
Fritz Klatt
Fritz Klatt (22 May 1888 – 26 July 1945) was a German educational reformer and writer.
Life
Fritz Klatt was born on 22 May 1888 in Berlin, son of a Sanskrit researcher.
He studied history, pedagogy and philosophy in Berlin.
In the 1920s Klatt ...
and
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...
. He deliberately used terms similar to those of the
National Socialists
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in an effort to gain the support of the
Mittelstand
commonly refers to a group of stable business enterprises in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that have proved successful in enduring economic change and turbulence. The term is difficult to translate and may cause confusion for non-Germans. It ...
, but by confusing ethical socialism with Nazism he probably inadvertently advanced the cause of the Nazis. Heimann's books were among those banned and burned by the Nazis in 1933.
In 1933, Heimann emigrated with his family to the United States. He taught at
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The Fellowship of Socialist Christians was organized in the early 1930s by
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of America ...
and others with similar views. Later it changed its name to Frontier Fellowship and then to Christian Action. The main supporters of the Fellowship in the early days included Heimann,
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...
,
Sherwood Eddy
George Sherwood Eddy (1871–1963) was a leading American Protestant missionary, administrator and educator. He was a prolific author and indefatigable traveler. His main achievement was to link and finance networks of intellectuals across the glo ...
and
Rose Terlin
Rose R. Terlin (24 October 1908 – 17 June 1979) was an American Christian leader, economist, author of several books on religion and economic justice and a YWCA leader. During and after World War II (1939–45) she held various senior governmen ...
. In its early days, the group thought capitalist individualism was incompatible with Christian ethics. Although not Communist, the group acknowledged
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
's social philosophy.
Heimann returned to Hamburg in 1961. He died there in 1967. His descendants live in California (US) and in Israel.
Views
Heimann's views diverged from
Marxian economics
Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a Heterodox economics, heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx, Karl Marx's Critique of political economy#Marx's critique of politic ...
and came close to
Manchester Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism (also called the Manchester School, Manchester Capitalism and Manchesterism) comprises the political, economic and social movements of the 19th century that originated in Manchester, England. Led by Richard Cobden and John ...
. Heimann published one of the first theoretical works on the "competitive solution" with his 1922 ''Mehrwert und Gemeinwirtschaft''. The concept was that the socialist economy would be based on various monopolies or "trusts" supervised by the unions or the government, with a degree of competition between the trusts. He accepted the value of market pricing, but was committed to introducing a socialist system and had doubts about the compatibility of competition and socialism. His solution was "friendly competition" between various enterprises in the economy. The managers would compete, but would not be allowed to take profits or to abuse their monopoly. Prices would be based on costs. In 1929 Heimann told a conference of socialist intellectuals in
Heppenheim
Heppenheim (Bergstraße) is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald. It is best known for being the birthplace of 4-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Geography ...
that market economics and socialism were compatible in a strong state with a solid social policy. In 1930 he argued that the Soviet Union's destruction of the market mechanism had been a disastrous mistake. He said,
Heimann thought that the true goal of
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
had been to restore the
dignity of labor
The dignity of labour is the philosophy that all types of jobs are respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and none of the jobs should be discriminated on any basis. Regardless of whether one's occupation involves physical work ...
as opposed to abolishing private property. He did not believe that reducing hours of work was a useful goal, since the majority of people would fail to use leisure for creative activity. He thought that meaningful work was more rewarding for most people than passive leisure occupations. Heimann thought socialists should push for reforms to social policy and working conditions, and this would help replace the capitalist system with the new socialist order. In 1929 he explained the logic of the social-policy movement,
Selected works
Heimann's works included:
*
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*
*
* 1945: ''History of Economic Doctrines: an introduction to economic theory.'' London/Oxford/New York :
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
[Heimann 1945: .] Many times reprinted. Translated into Portuguese: 1965 as '')'';
[Heimann 1965 (Portuguese ed.): .] (also reprinted).
* 1947: ''Freedom and order : lessons from the war.'' New York : Scribner's Sons.
[Heiman 1947: .] Reprinted 1993: Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI.
[Heimann 1993: .]
* 1954: ''Wirtschaftssysteme und Gesellschaftssysteme.'' Tübingen : J.C.B. Mohr.
[Heimann 1954: .]
* 1961: ''Reason and faith in modern society : liberalism, Marxism, and democracy.'' Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan University Press.
[Heimann 1961: .] 2nd ed. 1962: Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd.
[Heimann 1962: .]
* 1975: ''Sozialismus im Wandel der modernen Gesellschaft : Aufsätze zur Theorie und Praxis des Sozialismus : ein Erinnerungsband.'' published and with and introduction by Heinz-Dietrich Ortlieb. Berlin : Dietz.
[Heimann 1975: ,]
Table of Contents
Notes
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heimann, Eduard
1889 births
1967 deaths
Writers from Berlin
German economists
German social scientists
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States