An early inheritance allowed Simmel to live as an unpaid academic for decades

Evidence

Georg Simmel, 4 the youngest of seven children, was born in Berlin on March i, 1858. His father, a partner in a well-known chocolate factory, died when Georg was a boy. A friend of the family, the founder of an international music publishing house, was appointed his guardian. He left Simmel a considerable fortune which enabled him to lead the life of a scholar. Simmers mother was temperamental and domineering. — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 139

Categorization

• XREF: This explains the material basis for Simmel’s willingness to remain an unpaid Privatdozent and Professor Extraordinary — connects to the institutional incentive analysis elsewhere in the reader’s project.