The Man Who Discovered Capitalism

The Life and Ideas of Influential Economist Joseph Schumpeter

Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) coined the term "creative destruction" and generations of economists have adopted it as a shorthand description of the free market's messy way of delivering progress. Schumpeter believed capitalism would be destroyed by its successes and would spawn an intellectual class that made its living by attacking the very bourgeois system of private property and freedom so necessary for the intellectual class's existence. His work however is a a sparkling defense of capitalism on the grounds that capitalism sparks entrepreneurship.

The timely documentary THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED CAPITALISM is the story of Joseph Schumpeter's life, the development of his ideas, and how the digital revolution illustrates these ideas. Stylized drama sequences, in combination with Monthy Python inspired cut out animations, illustrate key aspects of Schumpeter's life and theory. Successful entrepreneurs such as Simon Woodroffe (Yo!Sushi), Eric Wahlforss (Soundcloud), Stefan Smalle (Westwing) and Renaud Visage (Eventbrite) share the secrets of their success and offer insights into what it takes to be the innovative entrepreneur who Schumpeter identified as the key actor in the capitalist drama.