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Oskar Ryszard LangePolish economist and diplomat.
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- Biography of Oscar Lange
- Early Life and Education
- Emigration to the United States
- Recognition and Support
- Return to Poland and Diplomatic Career
- Later Years and Contributions
- Death
Biography of Oscar Lange
Oscar Lange was a Polish economist and diplomat, best known as a proponent of using market pricing tools in socialist systems and as the author of an early model of market socialism.
Early Life and Education
Oscar Lange was born in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, to Arthur Julius Lange and Sophie Albertine Rosner. He studied law and economics at the University of Krakow, earning his bachelor's degree in 1926 and his master's degree in 1928. After working for a year in the Ministry of Labour in Warsaw, Lange returned to the University of Krakow to pursue research. In 1932, he married Irene Oderfeld.
Emigration to the United States
In 1934, Lange received a Rockefeller scholarship that allowed him to travel to England. Three years later, he immigrated to the United States. In 1938, Lange became a professor at the University of Chicago and, after five years, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Recognition and Support
Lange's work gained recognition beyond the United States. Even Joseph Stalin was impressed by Lange's research and personally requested a passport for him during Lange's visit to the Soviet Union. At their meeting, Stalin expressed his respect for Lange and even offered him a position in the future Polish government. However, towards the end of World War II, Lange had a falling out with the exiled Polish government in London and became more attracted to the pro-Soviet regime in his homeland. He returned to the United States and, during a meeting with Stanisław Mikołajczyk, expressed his support for Stalin and his plan to pressure the discredited Poles.
Return to Poland and Diplomatic Career
In 1945, after the war, Lange renounced his U.S. citizenship and returned to Poland. However, he returned to the United States later that year as the first ambassador of the communist Polish government. In 1946, Lange represented Poland at the United Nations Security Council. He continued to work actively for the government while conducting research at the University of Warsaw and the Main School of Planning and Statistics.
Later Years and Contributions
From 1961 to 1965, Lange served as the Deputy Chairman of the Polish State Council. Most of his economic contributions were made during his time in the United States from 1933 to 1945. Despite his strong commitment to socialism, Lange did not accept the Marxist theory of labor value and instead believed in neoclassical price theory. He is best remembered for his work "On the Economic Theory of Socialism," in which he synthesized Marxist and neoclassical economic ideas and advocated for the use of market tools, particularly the neoclassical theory of pricing, in planned economies. Lange argued that responsible authorities should determine prices and production plans based on current information, using trial and error rather than relying solely on the free market mechanism. He believed that increasing prices for scarce goods and reducing prices for surplus goods would incentivize production based on consumer demand.
Death
Oscar Lange passed away on October 2, 1965, in a hospital in London after an unsuccessful operation.
