Schumpeter�s conceptions of process and order

moura, m�rio gra�a;

This article scrutinises the conceptions of process and order present in Schumpeter�s
substantive writings. To facilitate a detailed understanding of his position, his work
is examined from different angles, in three successive �approximations�. The coherence,
or mismatch, of Schumpeter�s conceptions is subsequently discussed. The
article argues that Schumpeter�s essay on social classes provides an ontologically
grounded theory of process which is also a theory of reproduced order and that
this theory does not fit well with Schumpeter�s alternative conception of order as
equilibrium. His methodological commitment to an orthodox notion of order as
equilibrium is shown to be the source of pervasive tensions in his writings, here
classified as �retroductive problems� and �spurious problems