WEA Conference: CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM AND DEMOCRACY 80 YEARS LATER

2024 WEA Online Conference. CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM AND DEMOCRACY 80 YEARS LATER
the relevance of the issues raised by Schumpeter

Starting from Schumpeter’s book, this WEA Online Conference, led by Arturo Hermann and Maria Alejandra Madi, would promote an open debate on how these concepts of Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy characterise our economies and their possible evolution.

The current state of capitalism, socialism, and democracy presents an opportunity to reexamine the insightful ideas put forth by Schumpeter. Starting from Schumpeter’s book, the conference would promote an open debate on how the concepts of Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy characterise our economies and their possible evolution. Drawing on the controversies around Schumpeter’s great vision, our aim is to call for a reflection in connection with the economic, political and social complex and uncertain futures after the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war.

In 1942, Joseph Schumpeter published Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, a book that may still be read now. It was composed during the Great Depression, fascism and nazism’s early achievements in 1940 and 1941, and in a context of an uncertain future. Schumpeter’s book was easily forgotten or, at the best, considered as an interesting but unrealistic hypothesis. To this situation, some unclear aspects of his analysis may also have played a role. In particular, it is rather unclear why the rise of the modern corporation should lead automatically to socialism and not, as actually took place, to some form of mixed economy. Relatedly, in his analysis of socialism and democracy the adoption of a top-down approach ― in the sense that he considered socialism mainly in its centralised version and democracy mainly as a competition for leadership ― does not allow a fuller appraisal of the role that other forms of socialism and democracy can play in realising the objective of human development and social justice.

However, despite these limitations, we think that the enduring relevance of Schumpeter’s analysis lies in grasping the evolution of modern economic systems, from the individual capitalism to the managed/concerted economies of our time. These economies are characterised by the rise not only of big corporations but also by a growing importance of public action in trying to manage the contradictions of the system.

In this respect, fifty years after Schumpeter’s study, in shedding light on major elements of our economies and societies, it shows fascinating similarities with numerous contributions that, from diverse but complementary viewpoints, assess the mixed economies of our day.

In order to cast a better light on the complex reality of our uncertain times, and in the tradition of a pluralist approach to Economics, we invite contributions that develop relevant issues addressed by Schumpeter’s “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy”, also by considering other related insights from different theories and schools of thought.

Suggested Topics

The aspects that might be covered include, but are not limited to, the following
interrelated fields:

(I) Analysis of how capitalism, socialism and democracy have evolved in particular situations.

(II) Characteristics and evolution of modern corporations, public action and the related legal, institutional and policy framework.

(III) The legal and institutional analysis of the market at theoretical level and in specific situations.

(IV) The role and evolution of public sector and public spending from various theoretical perspectives (for instance, institutional, Marxist and Keynesian) and/or in specific situations.

(V) The various conceptions of socialism, social justice and democracy ― also considered in the central dimension of ecological sustainability ― and the most suited policies and institutions for their attainment.

(VI) Parallels, with the intention of shedding light on central components of our economies, considering the contributions of Marx, Hilferding, Polanyi, Keynes, Commons and the Veblen-Dewey-Ayres’ pragmatism and institutional tradition.

( VII) Democracy and pluralism in Economics.

In short, drawing on the controversies around Schumpeter’s great vision, our aim is to call for a reflection in connection with the economic, political and social complex and uncertain futures after the 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. On the WEA Conference website, you can find all the details for submissions and participation: https://schumpeter2024.weaconferences.net/