Abstract

When one speaks of a linguistic zone, it is often assumed that the zone in question is likely to display a stronger unity than that of a mere cultural zone. For example, the Chinese cultural zone includes many peoples and countries that do not share Chinese as their language, and therefore possesses its own potentially divisive sub-zones. In contrast, the German linguistic zone brings to mind a whole geography, much of which was occupied by the Austrian Empire as well as what would become Germany by way of unification. Politically divided, this zone nevertheless has had a lot in common culturally. If economic thought developed with a strong Historical School accent in Germany while the Austrians launched their own version of the marginal revolution, there was significant interaction, in fact a Methodenstreit across the border. Without one, the other would not have been the same. This is most true when the methodological sophistication of Austrian economists vis-à-vis other neoclassical economists is taken into consideration.