Imperialism and Social Classes

by Joseph A. Schumpeter

2014 Reprint of 1951 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Joseph Schumpeter was not a member of the Austrian School, but he was an enormously creative classical liberal, and this 1919 book shows him at his best. He presents a theory of how states become empires and applies his insight to explaining many historical episodes. His account of the foreign policy of Imperial Rome reads like a critique of the US today. The second essay examines class mobility and political dynamics within a capitalistic society. Overall, a very important contribution to the literature of political economy.

Genres: Politics, Economics, History, Sociology, Nonfiction

221 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1951

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

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schumpeter attempts to claim imperialism isn't intrinsic to the capitalist process but is just rooted in an atavistic psychological type formed in pre-capitalist relations which could whiter away as a consequence of further capitalist development unlike the "neo-Marxist" [that is Leninist] theory claims. He should of really read Rosa Luxemburg instead of Hilferding.

Among all capitalist economies, that of the United States is least burdened with precapitalist elements, survivals, reminiscences, and power factors. Certainly we cannot expect to find imperialist tendencies altogether lacking even in the United States, for the immigrants came from Europe with their convictions fully formed, and the environment certainly favored the revival of instincts of pugnacity. But we can conjecture that among all countries the United States is likely to exhibit the weakest imperialist trend. This turns out to be the truth.

When wasn't America expanding? The legacy of slavery wasn't a big precapitalist burden? The role the business community has played in shaping foreign policy both behind the scenes and right in the State Department hasn't been the prime check on imperialist ambitions.
The second essay on the psychological and familial basis of historical class phenomena is a little more persuasive but also questionable.