Sombart, Werner (1863–1941)

Born in Ermsleben, Prussia, Werner Sombart studied political economy at the universities of Berlin, Pisa, and Rome. In 1890, he became extraordinary professor at Breslau University and, in 1917, ordinary professor at the University of Berlin, from which he retired in 1933.

As a leading representative of the third and last generation of the German historical school of law, Sombart produced the most comprehensive synthesis of the school's enormous research work with his threevolume book, Der moderne Kapitalismus (Modern Capitalism)—his magnum opus and the foundation of his scientific reputation. He intended the book to be a paradigmatic representation of theoretical historicism, Sombart's ideal of a synthesis between historical empiricism and theoretical economics.

According to Sombart's own understanding, his greatest scientific-theoretical achievement was the introduction of the concept ...