Aging capitalists

Joseph Schumpeter, economist, concluded in Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy that capitalism’s days were numbered. This conclusion was in agreement with Karl Marx; however, Schumpeter's argument was very different from Marx's. For Schumpeter, capitalism would fail not because it was a useless economic system but, ironically, as a result of the social and cultural forces that it creates. Capitalism would fail because of its successes.

Schumpeter talked about the "rationalization of life," which would result in couples having fewer and fewer children, if any at all. This in turn would reduce individuals' desire to pursue entrepreneurial activities through innovation.

Whether you agree with Schumpeter or not, there has been a lot of talk about aging populations in the media. Here are a couple of links:

One from McKinsey Publications and another from Businessweek




Schumpeter, innovation management,