The Influence of the German Historical School on Joseph Alois Schumpeter

The main purpose of this study is to determine the influence of the German Historical School on Joseph Alois Schumpeter, one of the most important economists of the 20th century. Schumpeter’s early ideological development coincides with the “declaration of war” to the basic ideas of the Classical School by representatives of the German Historical School led by Schmoller and Weber. In this context, the German Historical School rejected the deductive methods of classical teaching and advocated inductive reasoning based on the historical method. In this record, Schumpeter’s versatile methodology leaning against history and economical sociology can be regarded as a result of this development. Without a shadow of doubt, one of the most important fields of study of both the German Historical School and Schumpeter addresses the entrepreneur and his role. Economists and sociologists representing the German Historical School proposed ideas on the origins of entrepreneurship in capitalist societies and its impact on social and economic change. The purpose of the text below is to address the related influence of the German Historical School, which regards the entrepreneur as the source of dynamism and change, on Schumpeter.