Poate supravieţui capitalismul?: distrugerea creatoare şi viitorul economiei globale

by Joseph A. Schumpeter, Monica Sibinescu (trad.)

Volumul Poate supravieţui capitalismul? prezintă teoria lui Joseph A. Schumpeter cu privire la „distrugerea creatoare“. Potrivit acesteia, în economiile capitaliste, noile inovaţii erodează poziţia firmelor vechi oferind, în acelaşi timp, căi noi şi nebănuite de creştere economică. Astăzi, efectele unor astfel de progrese cum ar fi MP3-urile – care înlocuiesc CD-urile, care la rândul lor au înlocuit casetele şi discurile de vinil – au dovedit că ideile lui sunt corecte. Argumentând în mod profetic faptul că în societăţile capitaliste „izbucnesc“ în mod recurent fenomene distructive care fac praf averile, acest mare economist a dezvăluit peisajul economic vast, deseori haotic al capitalismului mondial. Publicat pentru prima dată în clasica sa carte Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, volumul de faţă reprezintă un ghid extrem de valoros al economiei globale.

„Trăim astăzi, după cum se spune, în Era lui Schumpeter... Schumpeter a fost un profet puternic, iar în acest volum ne oferă intuiţii uimitoare asupra tuturor aspectelor socio-economice, de la apariţia Wal-Mart-ului până la nemulţumirile care însoţesc prosperitatea. Este cel mai bine cunoscut pentru sintagma sa evocatoare: «distrugerea creatoare». Schumpeter vedea în capitalism sistemul care dă naştere progresului material – standarde de viaţă mai ridicate, mai mult confort personal – prin intermediul inovaţiilor tehnologice şi al activităţii antreprenoriale. «Întreprinzătorul», un bărbat de mare viziune şi energie (în zilele lui erau puţine femei în afaceri), reprezintă, potrivit teoriei schumpeteriene, forţa motrice a schimbării economice . Într-adevăr, ideea capitalismului dinamic susţinută de Schumpeter pare a fi confirmată peste tot.“ (Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek)

Genres: Economics, Politics, Nonfiction, Sociology, Philosophy, Social Issues

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

People know Moravian-born Joseph Alois Schumpeter, an American, for his theories of socioeconomic evolution and the development of capitalism.

This political scientist briefly served as finance minister of Austria in 1919. Of the 20th century, the most influential Schumpeter popularized the term "creative destruction."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_...

Reviews

[Don Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fan of paradoxes, Schumpeter argued that the destruction of capitalism will come not from the inherent weaknesses of the system but rather from its greatest strengths. The driving force of capitalism is the entrepreneurial spirit and through channeling that spirit: innovation. By creating a new method of production, a new product, or another improvement to our daily lives, entrepreneurs must destroy the pre-existing companies which produced what is now outdated products--or what Schumpeter termed "creative destruction." The common consumer, taking innovation for granted, does not celebrate the innovation, for he or she does not completely understand the process.

The capitalist system has created mass communication for the anti-capitalistic mentality to persist and grow. Intellectuals see entrepreneurs and CEOs earn enormous amounts of money and profits. Being intellectuals, they do not want to comprehend how someone they believe to be less intelligent and doing what they view as menial tasks should be financially rewarded higher than they; it is unjust.

Capitalism, Schumpeter believes, has created the products and resentment towards that very system. Overall, this book has an interesting take on the downfall of the capitalistic system. Other predictions relied on the inherent weaknesses of capitalism, while Schumpeter, a clear appreciator and a lover of capitalism, sees its downfall through its inherent strengths.

[Michael Gallagher]

Schumpeter’s inability to craft a coherent sentence kneecaps all the really timeless ideas about monopolies going on here; better off reading secondary literature or an overview

[Darren Glazier · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liberal socialist garbage.

[Sarah McPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A germane question, especially in the aftermath of the 2008 global rout. Schumpeter argues that there are seeds of creation in economic collapse, which tells us that perhaps new industries are emerging from the economic meltdown of the crisis. A tour de force.

[Mikko Arevuo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A shortened version of 'Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy."