Analysis Of Joseph SchumpetersCapitalism Socialism, And...

In his book Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, the political scientist Joseph Schumpeter elucidates on his critique of the 18th century concept of democracy. By establishing what he sees wrong with this notion of democracy, Schumpeter then posits his own theory of democracy that is best described as â€Å"the rule of the politician.† Rule of the politician involves free competition for people’s votes, leading to politics becoming a career. Although this new theory of democracy may have significant drawbacks, this paper will assess and analyze its focus on political leadership rather than on the â€Å"incompetent masses† to draw out the insights it can offer to contemporary Democratic politics in the United States. Consequently, Schumpeter’s new†¦show more content†¦Thus, his new theory of democracy looks to reverse those roles. He defines his new method as â€Å"that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which indivi duals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote† (Schumpeter 269). Through this method, the electorate’s main function is to produce government. It is a method that is deemed â€Å"rule of the politician† through competition among potential leaders for the electorate’s vote. Although his theory is a reversal of a more tradition notion of democracy, Schumpeter’s new democracy does have some strengths. Primarily, this theory can now serve as a method for measuring when a nation is not a true democracy. Thus, it provides a more precise criterion for discerning between democratic governments. Secondly, Schumpeter accounts for the importance of leadership in a democracy while the classical theory deemed leaders almost dispensable. Finally, although the electorate’s main function is to produce a government, it can also evict a government. Consequently, â€Å"the electorate can accept political lead ers, and withdraw this acceptance† (Schumpeter 272). Now, despite the many strength of Schumpeter’s conception of democracy, it also has significant drawbacks. First, this theory produces a dualism within the people.