the eighth international economic history congress (august 16-20 1982, budapest)

Institute of History, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy ofSciences

The Eighth International Economic History Congress (August 16-20 1982, Budapest)Source: Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 29, No. 2/4 (1983), pp. 211-216Published by: Institute of History, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy ofSciencesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42555427 .

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Acta Histórica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (2 - 4), pp. 211 - 216 (1983)

VIE SCIENTIFIQUE INTERNATIONALE

The Eighth International

Economic History Congress

(August 16-20 1982, Budapest)

The International Economic History Association was founded in 1960 for the purpose of coordinating the scientific research of economic history, for ensuring regular debates of its theoretical and methodological questions and for securing opportunities to international scientific communication and discussions. Its coming into existence was due first of all to a significantly growing interest in economic history, as a result of the great economic, social and political changes that had taken place following the Second World War. Parallel with this and the development of economics and sociology, such a complex scientific approach to economic and social history and to historical processes came into prominence in the science of history itself, which was pre-existent as an important characteristic of the Marxist view of history, too.

Lately the Association has become the leading international forum of this discipline. National committees of 37 countries and several regional federations joined its ranks and problems of international interest were placed on its agenda. It has become more and more engaged with theoretical and methodological questions, of research into the economic history of antiquity, feudalism, capitalism and - in certain respects - even the period of socialism.

The general assembly of the Seventh Congress of the International Economic History Association, held in Edinburgh 1978, decided to hold the next congress in Budapest in 1982.

There were 863 economic historians, historians and economists from 88 countries taking part in the Eighth International Economic History Congress. The largest delegation was the Hungarian (155 persons) with the Swedish and English delegations not far behind, while larger delegations represented the Soviet Union, the United States and the German Federal Republic. The leaders of the International Economic History Association and the local organizing committee made every effort to help scientists of Third World countries to participate to a greater extent.

The inaugural session took place with all solemnity in the morning of August the 16th, 1982. Amongst the presidium were the chief patron of the Congress, Mr. György Lázár, Prime Minister of the Hungarian People's Republic, the patrons, members of the Organizing Committee, as well as prominent figures of Hungarian science and politics.

6* Acta Historka Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (2 - 4), (1983)



212 Vie scientifique internationale

After the opening words of Mr. György Ránki , Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Prime Minister György Lázár in his welcoming address praised the significance of research into economic history, its contribution to the interpretation of problems of the present and to the establishment of economic policy. Thereafter Zsigmond Pál Pach, President of the International Economic History Association held a lecture with the title "Business Mentality and Hungarian National Character".*

Afterwards Jánoš Szentágothai, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences presented Professor Fernand Braudel, one of the founders and Honorary President of the International Economic History Association with the diploma of honorary fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. László Makkai, President of the Hungarian Historical Society presented Mr. M . A. Barg Soviet and Mr. P. Matthias British economic historians with documents stating their honorary membership of the Society.

II.

The Congress provided specialists of every historical period with opportunities for substantial debates and exchange of scientific opinions by means of the plenary session and the sessions of the 3 "A" topics (Large Estates and Small Holdings from the Middle Ages; Proto-industrialization; Technical Change, Investment and Employment in the 19th and 20th Centuries) discussed in 3 sessions of half a day duration, 12 so-called "B" and 36 so-called "C" themes lasting for respectively 2 and 1 half a day sessions.

Certainly there is no possibility for a thorough professional evaluation of the accomplished work within the framework of our short summary. The Congress as a whole has well demonstrated the approach of economic history towards the problems of the present, not as much in subject-matter and chronology as in its view-points and the manner in which questions were put. Therefore we will limit ourselves to the presentation of only four such aspects.

1 . The specialisation of the science of history had created various branches of knowledge and the corresponding international societies. Part of this process was the independence of economic history and the creation of the International Economic History Association. The assertion of the need for integration, which has become more observable lately, is the complimentary process of specialisation. More determined than ever is the ambition to connect the examination of economic history , social history, economy, economic behaviour and mentality. Several lecturers, among others the

* The lecture will be printed in Études Historiques Hongroises 1985, a collection of studies by Hungarian historians to be published on the occasion of the XVIth International Congress of Historical Sciences in Stuttgart in 1985.

Acta Histórica Academiae Seien tiarum Hungaricae 29 (2 - 4), ( 1983)



Vie scientifique internationale 213

lecturer in the opening plenary session, referred to the importance of economic attitude and mentality in economic developments, how the economic thinking - e.g. ideas about trading activities - of leading circles in a society had influenced the development of a whole era. This was illustrated by examples in the development of American and Japanese economies. Mr. T. Barker (England) and Mr. Levy Leboyer (France) put forward examples to prove the results of the so-called Buddenbrook-effect: in the transformation of the family enterprize an important role had the fact that, parallel with the thriving of business potential, inheritors had diminished in numbers and had felt their participation in the actual day-to-day management of business affairs to be beneath their dignity.

Special emphasis was laid upon the importance of social problems from the point of view of economic growth. In connection with the inflation of the 1920s the role of social insurance, social benefits and the social, economic and mental effects of their loss of value were examined.

The tendency, which has already started but is likely to get greater emphasis only at the next congress, is the economic-historical examination of the middle classes. While the fundamental social classes have been closely scrutinized, the middle classes of the society are still blank spots for the research of certain periods, even if their historic role - as Marx had already drawn attention to it - bears extraordinary importance in certain periods. Several lecturers examined the conditions of the poorest social strata and the role of famine, which is not negligible even in the history of recent times. There was an effort made to connect the examination of the economic conditions of those circles of society, which had been manifold at disadvantage with their movements, social and political conduct as well as the influence they had exerted on the objective course of economic growth.

2. Much emphasis was laid upon the theoretical and methodological problems of economic history by the participants of the Congress. The "B-l." section, organized by Mr. Jürgen Коска (Federal Republic of Germany), and Mr. György Ránki, examined the relationship between economic history and economics. The opening lecture, the comments and the debate manifested that it is getting harder to define the border lines between economic history and economics or even between sociology and economic geography. In the present period of the development of sciences the major task is not to make the boundaries distinguishable but to find those common areas where sciences meet. Nobel prize winner economist John Micke was quoted saying: "One of the most essential objectives of economic history is to offer opportunities for encounters and debates to those who are cultivating economics, political sciences, sociology and historical sciences."

In connection with methodological questions - beyond making comparison between the development of certain countries - there was emphasis laid upon the comparison of some historical regions and there were initial steps taken towards the inclusion of the "Third World" into the comparative examination. In a session dealing

Acta Histórica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (2 - 4), (1983)




with theme "A" Large Estates and Small Holdings the characteristic features of certain regions and countries were investigated from common view-points. While the session discussing the forms of capitalist and socialist enterprisal control was concerned practically only with Eastern and Western Europe, in some other sessions there were attempts made to define the "sub-regions" within the great historical regions. Mr. I. Waller stein (USA) proposed that historical processes, which had started prior to the formation of national frontiers, should not be examined within those boundaries. This way a more realistic picture can be formed of their real spread and the "rate of the spread". In this context were quoted and reinforced the words of the outstanding French economic and social historian, Marc Bloch , who had fallen victim of fascism: "History is the science of changes and - in many respects - of differences".

As we have mentioned above, the first steps had been made to include the countries of the Third World into the research not only in the choice of topics - since there was a section dealing particularly with Eastern-Asia and Latin-America - but also within certain themes. Therefore a separate session discussed the spreading of the European feudal model or the appearance of the so-called proto-industrialization in the Third World. The need for chronological comparison appeared mainly in connection with economic cycles.

3. Economic cyclicism and the question of cyclical development of economy were discussed to a great extent at the Congress. It was examined how far there are similarities or differences between the period of 1400-1750 (or rather till 1800) and the great trend of secularization lasting from the 19th century on until the present. This signifies again the advance of economic history towards the problems of our times. The task of the examination was to find out the characteristics of medium length and short cycles (cycles of only a few years), their course and their causes. Concerning the trends lasting for centuries - as the one of the present - the following question arises: Does the conclusion of a long cycle mean the beginning of a new world economic era? According to the evidence supplied by economic history, only certain countries are able to keep pace with such a change. By researching the changing trends of cycles - concluded the discussions in the two sessions dealing with this matter - the forces and motives determining this motion have to be found as they can provide opportunities for a flexible accommodation to future circumstances.

With another aspect in view the participants were examining if it is right in general to speak of cycles in history, which processes can be called cyclical, how extended and long waves exist? Also in this regard the need for complex research had arisen and the observation of cyclicism of social phenomena has begun.

4. By examining the economic processes - beyond the enterpreneurial types of past and present in agriculture and industry and beyond the question of how the living conditions of working classes had changed during the periods of great economic transformations - there was more emphasis laid than ever upon the economic efficiency of certain historical production-forms and organizational methods. Amidst




Vie scientifique internationale 215

the great crises of the capitalist world and the serious economic difficulties of socialist countries new standpoints and new ways of posing questions had arisen. These questions were concerning the historical development of interaction between invention, innovation and adaptation, the deployment of production technology to "unlimited" raw material reserves and "unlimited" manpower reserves (US and Japan resp.) moreover the relationship between large and small enterprises, their efficiency and finally the crushing of doctrines, which held concentration the only redeeming form of economic progress.

In this context the question arising in several sections was the relationship between small and large enterprises. Section "A" examined, how large and small estates, seigniorial and peasant farms related to one another from the Middle Ages until the Modern Age. A French researcher has justly set fundamental value upon this question, since "feudalism is definable through the combination of large estates and small scale production". Several participants stressed that, after all, this relationship determined the way feudalism developed. They have arrived at the conclusion that during the whole feudal era those had been the quickly developing time periods from the point of view of production, which had secured the balance between the two forms of undertaking. The section examining the different forms of industrial enterprises prior to the industrial revolution has arrived at a similar conclusion pointing out that small enterprises could succeed only in case they were connected to some sort of a large enterprise. They analysed the historical example of the European so-called Verlagssystem and they referred to the quick industrial development of certain Southeast- Asian regions as a contemporary analogy.

The scientific program of the Congress was accompanied by cultural events as well. In the evening of the 16th August the participants visited the exhibition called "Message of the Plough Lands", which had opened on the occasion of the Congress. The exhibition was organized by Mr. Tamás Hoffmann, director-general of the Museum of Ethnography and inaugurated by Mr. Pál Romány , president of the Agrarian History Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It presented the development of Hungarian peasant farming and its technical transformation during the 19th and 20th centuries. Following the inauguration of the exhibition, a reception was given in honour of the participants by Mr. Jánoš Szentágothai, president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

On the 18th of August there was a half-day excursion organized for the foreign participants of the Congress and their attendants by the local organizing committee.

In the evening of the 20th of August the participants were guests of Prime Minister György Lázár, chief patron of the Congress at a farewell reception.

In accordance with its tradition, the International Economic History Associa- tion held a general assembly for the election of officiers on the closing day of the Congress. Professor Jean-François Bergier from Switzerland became elected president. The general assembly came to the resolution to hold the next congress in Switzerland,





1986. Mr. Zsigmond Pál Pach was elected honorary president. Professor T. Iván Berend, Head of Department at the Karl Marx University of Economics, became the Hungarian member of the 12-member Executive Committee.

For a summary we can say that the Congress brought the questions of economic history closer to the present than previous congresses and it achieved this without turning overly to current issues. It paid attention to the new standpoints of the present and gave a good example for how problems of our times can widen the scope of examination concerning the standpoint system of the past. The throughout scientific level of debates and the friendly atmosphere has greatly contributed to the success of the Congress.

Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (2 - 4), (1983)



the eighth international economic history congress (august 16-20 1982, budapest)

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