This article points to a distinct puzzle in the analyses of capitalism that can be found in the works of Weber and Schumpeter, and gives a new introduction to their analysis of capitalism. Both Weber and Schumpeter wrote voluminously on capitalism, as testified to by such giant works as Economy and Society (Weber, 1978c [1922]) and Business Cycles (Schumpeter, 1939). One can also discern a distinct development in their thought over time: from emphasizing the role of various voluntaristic elements (such as the spirit of capitalism and the spirit of entrepreneurship) to stressing the role of institutions. The puzzle that one can find in their writings is as follows. Weber and Schumpeter both argue that a vigorous and healthy capitalism requires certain economic and non-economic institutions, in addition to something else. An absence of this ‘something else’ may lead to capitalist petrification or collapse, according to both authors. The answers of Weber and Schumpeter to the above puzzle, it is shown in the article, is somewhat different in their early and in their later works.
Alexander, Jeffrey (1983) Theoretical Logic in Sociology: Vol. 3. The Classical Attempt at Theoretical Synthesis: Max Weber. Berkeley: University of California Press.
2.
Becker, Marcus and Thorbjorn Knudsen (in press) ‘Schumpeter 1911: Farsighted Visions on Economic Development’, American Journal of Economics and Sociology.
3.
Chandler, Alfred (1984) ‘The Emergence of Managerial Capitalism’, Business History Review58(Winter): 473-503.
4.
Collins, Randall (1986) ‘Weber and Schumpeter: Toward a General Sociology of Capitalism’, pp. 117-142 in Weberian Sociological Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5.
Hall, Peter A. (1999) ‘The Political Economy of Europe in an Era of Interdependence’, pp. 135-163 in Herbert Kitschelt, Peter Lange, Gary Marks and John Stephens (eds), Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6.
Hollingsworth, Rogers and Robert Boyer (eds) (1997) Contemporary Capitalism: The Embeddedness of Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7.
Kocka, Jürgen (1981) ‘Capitalism and Bureaucracy in German Industrialization before 1914’, Economic History Review34: 453-468.
8.
Langlois, Richard (1991) ‘Schumpeter and the Obsolescence of the Entrepreneur’. Working Paper 91-1503, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut.
9.
Marshall, Gordon (1982) In Search of the Spirit of Capitalism: An Essay on Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic Thesis. London: Hutchinson.
10.
Mommsen, Wolfgang (2001) ‘Max Weber’s “Grand Sociology: The Origins and Composition of Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Soziologie” ’, History and Theory39: 364-383.
11.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1911) Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. [The date on the title page is 1912.]
12.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1934) Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
13.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1939) Business Cycles: A Theoretical, Historical and Statistical Analysis of the Capitalist Process, 2 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill.
14.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1951) ‘Capitalism’, pp. 184-205 in Essays. New York: Addison-Wesley. (Orig. pub. 1946.)
15.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1975a) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper & Row. (Orig. pub. 1942.)
16.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1975b) ‘The March into Socialism’, pp. 415-425 in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper & Row. (Orig. pub. 1949.)
17.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1989) ‘Preface to the Japanese Edition of Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung’, pp. 165-168 in Essays. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. (Orig. pub. 1937.)
18.
Schumpeter, Joseph (2000) ‘The Present State of Economics OR On Systems, Schools and Methods’, Internet adress: http://home.t-online.de/home/hedtke/text2%7E1.htm. (Orig. pub. 1931.)
19.
Swedberg, Richard (1989) ‘Joseph A. Schumpeter and the Tradition of Economic Sociology’, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics145: 508-524.
20.
Weber, Max (1946a) ‘Religious Rejections of the World and Their Directions’, Pp. 323-359 in Hans Gerth and C. Wright Mills (eds) From Max Weber. New York: Oxford University Press. (Orig. pub. 1915.)
21.
Weber, Max (1946b) ‘The Social Psychology of the World Religions’, pp. 267-301 in Hans Gerth and C. Wright Mills (eds) From Max Weber. New York: Oxford University Press. (Orig. pub. 1915.)
22.
Weber, Max (1946c) ‘The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism’, pp. 302-322 in Hans Gerth and C. Wright Mills (eds) From Max Weber. New York: Oxford University Press. (Orig. pub. 1920.)
23.
Weber, Max (1951) The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. (Orig. pub. 1920.)
24.
Weber, Max (1952) Ancient Judaism. New York: Free Press. (Orig. pub. 1921.)
25.
Weber, Max (1958a) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. (Orig. pub. 1904-5.)
26.
Weber, Max (1958b) The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hindusim and Buddhism. New York: Free Press. (Orig. pub. 1921.)
27.
Weber, Max (1972) Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft: Grundriss der verstehendenden Soziologie, 5th edn.Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr.
28.
Weber, Max (1978a) ‘Kritische Bermerkungen zu den vorstehenden “Kritische Beiträgen” ’, pp. 227-237 in Johannes Winkelmann (ed.) Die Protestantische Ethik: Kritiken und Antikritiken. Gütersloh: Mohn. (Orig. pub. 1907.)
29.
Weber, Max (1978b) ‘Parliament and Government in a Reconstructed Germany’, pp. 1381-1469 in Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, 2 vols. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Orig. pub. 1918.)
30.
Weber, Max (1978c) Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology, 2 vols. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Orig. pub. 1922.)
31.
Weber, Max (1981) General Economic History. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction. (Orig. pub. 1923.)
32.
Weber, Max (1984) Die Lage der Landarbeiter im ostelbischen Deutschland. Max Weber Gesamtausgabe, Vol. I/3. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr. (Orig. pub. 1892.)
33.
Weber, Max (1988) ‘Zur Psychophysik der Arbeit’, pp. 61-255 in Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Soziologie und Sozialpolitik. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr. (Orig. pub. 1908.)
