Publication by Dr. Matthias Niedenführ in the Springer Handbook on Economic Philosophy

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Matthias Niedenführ, Senior Research Fellow at the Leadership Excellence Institute (LEIZ), has made a significant contribution to the recently published first volume of the Springer Handbook of Economic Philosophy.

The volume, titled Genealogies of Economic Philosophyand edited by Prof. Dr. Thomas Sören Hoffmann and Dr. Klaus Honrath (FernUniversität in Hagen), explores the historical and cultural genesis of key questions in economic philosophy. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, it examines economic theories and practices from antiquity to the early modern period and places them within their broader cultural contexts.

Dr. Niedenführ’s chapter, “Economic Thought and Practice in Ancient China", offers an in-depth analysis of economic concepts and practices in pre-modern Chinese societies. Central philosophical schools such as Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism are examined with regard to their implications for economic ethics. The contribution highlights how economic action and moral reflection were mutually influential within Chinese tradition and what role merchants and traders played within the social order.

With this chapter, Dr. Niedenführ provides a valuable contribution to the global contextualization of economic philosophical discourse and emphasizes the importance of cultural diversity in the reflection on economic principles—an objective that also lies at the heart of LEIZ’s mission.

Further information about the handbook is available on the publisher’s website: Springer.com