Joseph Schumpeter Quotes

The capitalist engine is first and last an engine of mass production which unavoidably means also production for the masses.

Capitalism … has existed for fewer than 300 years. If the entire history of Homo sapiens was a 24-hour day, then capitalism has existed for two minutes … Economic systems come, and economic systems go. No economic system lasts forever. Capitalism is not likely to last forever, either.

The American system is the most ingenious system of control in world history. With a country so rich in natural resources, talent, and labor power, the system can afford to distribute just enough wealth to just enough people to limit discontent to a troublesome minority.

Capitalism is not simply mass production, but mass production to satisfy the needs of the masses.

Capitalism and political systems - like companies - must constantly evolve to stay vital.

Right now people seem to be very tentative about the positive benefits of capitalism.

Capitalism has its weaknesses. But it is capitalism that ended the stranglehold of the hereditary aristocracies, raised the standard of living for most of the world and enabled the emancipation of women.

What if capitalism is unsustainable, and socialism is impossible?

It’s no surprise that a global economy creates a global class conflict…. All markets create classes and class conflicts.

There are two forces in this and in every other nation of the world today. One force is the taker and the other force is the maker.

Capitalism is very unfair but it is the only system that works.

Although capitalism is, in principle, strongly individualistic, it has contributed in practice to reinforce the trend to integration, because it has made our lives more and more interdependent.

We have to stop allowing economics to be used as a trump card. Capitalism is like math. It is amoral. It is good at producing wealth; it's bad at distributing wealth. Unless it operates within a moral framework it will produce an unjust society.

In the capitalist society there is a place and bread for all. Its ability to expand provides sustenance for every worker. Permanent unemployment is not a feature of free capitalism.

Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can.

In human life, economics precedes politics or culture.

I think that the future belongs to democracy, but not to capitalism, because they are opposite camps.

So I think one can say on empirical grounds - not because of some philosophical principle - that you can't have democracy unless you have a market economy.

Is Wall Street the rightful master of our economic fate? Or should we choose a broader form of sovereignty?

The market economy is very good at wealth creation but not perfect at all about wealth distribution.

I'm a capitalist. I believe in capitalism. But capitalism only works if you have safety nets to deal with people who are naturally left behind and brutalized by it.

History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

There is no freedom without groceries. There are no groceries without freedom. What people call 'capitalism' and 'socialism' are actually one and inseparable. It's a virtuous circle.

The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of a system.

The market is no god - it cannot solve every problem.