Abstract:

The world is experiencing the age of Schumpeter and the American economy remains the premier example of a Schumpeterian economy. Despite its many naysayers and the doom and gloom professors that never stop predicting its demise, the American economy continues to show a remarkable capacity to rejuvenate. Orwell once commented that “England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their nationality.” Left-wing intellectuals, he argued, hasted the divorce between intelligence and patriotism, which weakened the country’s morale and emboldened its enemies. Left-wing intellectuals, he argued, hasted the divorce between intelligence and patriotism, which weakened the country’s morale and emboldened its enemies. If he were alive today, it would be interesting to hear his opinion about the relentless barrage of criticism against everything American. One thing seems sure, though, America, not England, is the country most hated by its intellectual class. Any talk about Schumpeter’s “gale of creative destruction” is anathema to these “critical critics.” After all, when it comes to everything American, these individuals believe that they must criticize for the sake of criticism. The thought that capitalism has an internal mechanism akin to a fountain of youth must be disheartening to those whose blinders prevent them from accepting opposing facts. Frightenedly, these same intellectuals are apologists for every dictatorship the world over.