Schumpeter and the Rise of Modern Environmentalism

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. (CSD, 1942), Schumpeter presents his paradoxal thesis that capitalism will destroy its own foundation, not by failure but by its success. He argues that the emergence of unfavorable circumstances will activate strong opposition from social critics and intellectuals. Considering the recent growth in national and international environmental legislation and the subsequent emergence of rather vague ecological concepts like sustainable development and the precautionary principle -both challenging economic growth -one could argue that modern environmentalism is one of the most powerful forces that will further impact capitalism as we know it. Did Schumpeter foresee this evolution and what are the mechanisms that did lead to this situation? We discuss aspects of Schumpeterian issue entrepreneurship and relate these to theories on the emergence of environmental regulation, the expansion of environmental organizations, the use of new instruments in environmental policy and pro-active business strategies. Where possible, recent developments in climate policy, acid rain policy and biotechnology policy are integrated in the analysis. Terms of use: Documents inJEL Classification : A14, B31, Q20

Joseph schumpeter and his legacy in innovation studies

“…Important reflections of this grow cadre of critics are discussions about the disappearance of the substance of property rights of shareholders in the corporate governance debate (Raaijmaakers and McCahery, 2000), the "McDonaldization" of society (Ritzer, 1993), the ecological movement (Albrecht and Gobbin, 2001), and anti-globalism. To be sure, it is not very likely that these movements will cause the destruction of capitalism.…”