Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy
New York, N.Y. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1947. Second Edition (Revised edition), Presumed first printing thus. Hardcover. xiv, 411, [5] pages. Includes Preface to the Second Edition; Preface; Prologue, and Index. Chapters include The Marxian Doctrine; Can Capitalism Survive?; Can Socialism Work? Socialism and Democracy; and A Historical Sketch of Socialist Parties. This revised/second edition contains new material appraising the social changes wrought by the war. Joseph Alois Schumpeter (February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950)[3] was an Austrian political economist. He was born in Moravia, and briefly served as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Harvard University, where he remained until the end of his career, and in 1939 obtained American citizenship. Schumpeter was one of the most influential economists of the early 20th century, and popularized the term "creative destruction", that was coined by Werner Sombart. The source of Schumpeter's dynamic, change-oriented, and innovation-based economics was the Historical school of economics. Schumpeter's work on the role of innovation and entrepreneurship can be seen as a continuation of ideas originated by the Historical School. Schumpeter's most popular book is probably Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. While Marx predicted that capitalism would be overthrown by a violent proletarian revolution, which actually occurred in the least capitalist countries, Schumpeter believed that capitalism would weaken by itself and collapse. Specifically, the success of capitalism would lead to corporatism and to values hostile to capitalism, especially among intellectuals. More