Joseph Alois Schumpeter was born in Trietsh, Austria and studied law and economics at the University of Vienna. He was president of the American Economic Association in 1948.
Schumpeter made major contributions to the understanding of economic growth and crisis. In his book,"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy", Schumpeter stated the following: "Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can." He believed tha t capitalism would create a large intellectual class that made its living by attacking the very system of private property and freedom necessary for their existence. Though he saw the distruction of capitalism as inevitable, he was not happy about it, in deed, he believed it was capitalism that sparked entrepreneurship. He also believed that some degree of monopoly was preferable to perfect competition.
The following is a discription of Schumpeter by Evsey D. Domar, "Eminent Economists: Their Life Philosophies":
" As a teacher at Harvard, Schumpeter was a law to himself. He administered the final examinations himself, but did not read the papers. Most of the boys received A-'s, the girls A's, and the students whom he particularly liked A+'s. I was told that in his recommendation letters every student was described as a genius or, at least, close to one. A certain midwestern university was said to have hired a person on the strength of Schumpeter's recommendation. You can imagine the results.His office hours were on Wednesday afternoon. When you arrived, you found several students already sitting in front of his office. As soon as you sat down, Schumpeter involved you in the conversation he was having with one of them. You were flattered that your opinion was asked for, and you had a great time. Only after you left did you realize that you had never had a chance to ask the question you had come for. The next Wednesday was a repetition of the first. But you really did not mind. Schump eter's showmanship was superb. Alone in the department, he at least pretended that he liked to see students."
Works by Joseph Alois Schumpeter:
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