Lachmann attempts to undertake a Weberian analysis of economic phenomena, while discarding the method of the ideal type. He instead suggests a new tool of analysis, which he believes fits better with the methodology of verstehen; the plan. A plan is a way to interpret the actions of men. People have particular goals and perceive certain means of achieving them. These frameworks of means and ends constitute a plan. It should be emphasized that people usually have many plans at any point in time, of varying importance. These plans may even be contradictory or illogical. The social scientist must take into account that people have this inner framework, which differentiates them from physical objects, who have no inner world of thought. These historians and economists must attempt to impute certain plans to individuals, using their interpretations of each person’s actions.
BTW: The Legacy of Max Weber can be found in PDF form here
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