Schumpeter and the Transformation of Capitalism, Liberalism and Democracy

`Schumpeter, and the Transformation of Capitalism, Liberalism and Democracy', Government and Opposition, 26, (1991), pp. 500-19

22 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2014

See all articles by Richard Bellamy

Richard Bellamy

University College London - Department of Political Science

Date Written: December 26, 2014

Abstract

Re-reading Schumpeter's classic Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy in the present context is a curious but, I believe, sobering experience. A liberal and a capitalist, Schumpeter nevertheless believed the future lay with socialism. Following Weber, he maintained that the increasingly cartelized and monopolistic character of capitalism had eroded the function of the entrepreneur and made its transformation into the bureaucratic type of social organization he associated with socialist states inevitable. He assumed the public acquisition of the means of production and exchange would be a mere formality. Unlike Weber, he thought the difficulties facing a centrally planned economy had been exaggerated and were remediable. Moreover, he contended that a centralized state was well adapted to the only form of democracy likely to survive in the complex mass societies of the modern world - namely, a plebiscitary contest between rival party leaders for the right to rule. Such conclusions fly in the face of much contemporary wisdom. However, further reflection reveals them to have more substance than might at first appear.

Keywords: Schumpeter, Democracy, Liberalism, Capitalism

JEL Classification: B31

Suggested Citation

Bellamy, Richard, Schumpeter and the Transformation of Capitalism, Liberalism and Democracy (December 26, 2014). `Schumpeter, and the Transformation of Capitalism, Liberalism and Democracy', Government and Opposition, 26, (1991), pp. 500-19, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2542887

Richard Bellamy (Contact Author)

University College London - Department of Political Science ( email )

Gower Street
London
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=RBELL43

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