Can Capitalism Survive?

Schumpeter, Joseph Alois

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1891396765 ISBN 13: 9781891396762

Publisher: Martino Fine Books, 2011

2011 Reprint of 1947 Second Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Originally Published as Part II of Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy [1947]. " Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can." Thus opens Schumpeter's prologue to a section of his 1947 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. One might think, on the basis of the quote, that Schumpeter was a Marxist. But the analysis that led Schumpeter to his conclusion differed totally from Karl Marx's. Marx believed that capitalism would be destroyed by its enemies (the proletariat), whom capitalism had purportedly exploited, and he relished the prospect. Schumpeter believed that capitalism would be destroyed by its successes, that it would spawn a large intellectual class that made its living by attacking the very bourgeois system of private property and freedom so necessary for the intellectual class's existence. And unlike Marx, Schumpeter did not relish the destruction of capitalism. "If a doctor predicts that his patient will die presently," he wrote, "this does not mean that he desires it."

Review:

"Schumpeter gave us stunning insights into how the world really works. We are now living, it is said, in the Age of Schumpeter. . . . Schumpeter was a powerful prophet, and he now offers dazzling insights into everything from the rise of Wal-Mart to prosperity's discontents."--Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek

"Schumpeter may well be the most important economist of the 21st century."--J. Bradford DeLong, Chronicle of Higher Education

"The most influential economist of the 20th century."--Peter Drucker, Fortune

"The greatest defense of capitalist, European civilization ever penned. . . . Schumpeter did more than anyone to persuade American leaders to preserve the capitalist system"--American Conservative

"Schumpeter was the most farsighted of twentieth-century economists. His focus on capitalism and creative destruction made him the prophet of globalization."--The Nation

The 20th century s foremost economist. --Steve Forbes, "Forbes""

The most influential economist of the 20th century. --Peter Drucker, Fortune"

The great economist Joseph Schumpeter highlighted the role of innovation in powering the rise of new industries, the creative destruction of existing ones, and the growth in prosperity of economies. --Richard Florida, "Atlantic""

Schumpeter gave us stunning insights into how the world really works. We are now living, it is said, in the Age of Schumpeter. . . . Schumpeter was a powerful prophet, and he now offers dazzling insights into everything from the rise of Wal-Mart to prosperity s discontents. --Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek"

The greatest defense of capitalist, European civilization ever penned. . . . Schumpeter did more than anyone to persuade American leaders to preserve the capitalist system --American Conservative"

From the Back Cover:

Considered by many economists to be the finest analysis of capitalism ever written, Can Capitalism Survive? introduces Joseph A. Schumpeter's theory of "creative destruction," stating that in capitalist economies new innovations erode the position of established firms while also providing new and previously unforeseen avenues of economic growth. Today the effects of such advancements as Mp3s--replacing CDs, which in turn had replaced cassettes and vinyl records--have proven his ideas correct. Prophetically arguing that capitalist societies are also subject to "perennial gales" of destruction that wipe away fortunes, this great economist revealed the vast, often chaotic economic landscape of world capitalism. First published in Schumpeter's classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, here is an invaluable guide the global economy.