Schumpeter and economic man

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the writings of Joseph Schumpeter on economic man to demonstrate that Schumpeter is a precursor of personalist economics. Design/methodology/approach - This paper addresses two intertwined questions. What evidence supports the claim that Schumpeter rejectedhomo economicus? What evidence indicates that Schumpeter actually embraced the human person – the acting person – as a replacement forhomo economicus? The evidence is presented in four sections: Schumpeter’s rejection ofhomo economicus; Schumpeter on economic agency; Schumpeter, a precursor of personalist economics; and final remarks. Findings - As to the first question, there is no doubt that Schumpeter rejectedhomo economicus. Regarding the second, the evidence does not indicate that Schumpeter proposed replacinghomo economicuswith what today we refer to as the acting person. This paper concludes that by insisting on the critical role of the active, spontaneous, and eager-to-initiate change entrepreneur in economic affairs and our understanding of those affairs Schumpeter was a precursor of personalist economics. Originality/value - To a large extent Schumpeter’s insights regarding economic agency and William Waters role in interpreting those insights have been buried in the economics literature. It was Waters in 1952 who stated that Schumpeter identified the inadequacy of economic man as the efficient cause of economic activity and re-established the human person as the true efficient cause, principally in terms of entrepreneurship.