Joseph Schumpeter and Modern Nonlinear Dynamics

This paper explores the conceptual links between Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of instability under capitalism and both theoretical and empirical research that has been done over the past fifteen years in nonlinear dynamics. Recent work related to chaos and bifurcation theory is shown to be consistent with Schumpeter’s view that instability is an inherent feature of capitalism, and that there is a positive, though difficult, role for stabilization policy as a result. The strong claim that modern research has proven Schumpeter correct is not made, but rather that existing recent research is not inconsistent with his views.