“ Wagner accordingly investigates, before anything else, the conditions of the economic life of the community, and in subordination to this, determines the sphere of the economic freedom of the individual. ”

“ He lays down that the economic position of the individual, instead of depending merely on so-called natural rights or even on his natural powers, is conditioned by the contemporary juristic system, which is itself an historical product. ”

“ WAGNER, ADOLF (1835–⁠) , German economist, was born at Erlangen on the 25th of March 1835. Educated at Göttingen and Heidelberg, he was professor of political science at Dorpat and Freiburg, and after 1870 at Berlin. A prolific writer on economic problems, he brought out in his study of the subject the close relation which necessarily exists between economics and jurisprudence. He ranks without doubt as one of the most eminent German economists and a distinguished leader of the historical school. ”