Opening the Closed World: On Till Düppe’s New Book

Abstract

The work of Eastern European economists during the Cold War is no longer terra incognita, and Till Düppe’s new book contributes to improving our intellectual topography. Its focus is on what it calls the ‘hope generation’ of economists in the German Democratic Republic. What was the hope about?

During the post-Stalinist ‘Thaw’ and the postwar German reconstruction, it meant that ‘another socialism was possible’ (4). This defines the context of the book: the firm belief of many that socialism – whether in its existing version or in its promised form – is the only anti-fascist and peace-bringing system. The question was, of course, what visions of socialism could be discussed and adopted – and how one could put together Marxian ideas, the new visions of ‘scientific socialism’ (81), and, as was the case somewhat later, a model for a culturally superior society.

Keywords: history of economics, Cold war economics, Cold war social science, East German history

JEL Classification: B24, B29, B31, P20