Perspectives on capitalism: Marx, Keynes, Schumpeter and Weber

Karl Marx JM Keynes Mas Weber and 1 Schumpeter-four towering personales se ideas have had a profound and listing impact on the social sciences. Though they diffened (often radically) in their ideological vision and theresical perceptions, all four shared one major set of com cerns they were engaged in unravelling the stre ture of capitalism, in delineating the mode which it functions, and in seeking a comprehensive understanding of the key elements which shape the dynamics of a capitalist society. Although all four of them belonged to a western milieu, the influence has been pronounced on all non-western scholars who are attempting to understand both their con temporary and historical situation

The eleven substantial essays which comprise th volume are the outcome of a seminar organised by the Indian Council for Social Science Research Together, the essays highlight the richness of the theoretical ideas propounded by Marx, Keynes Schumpeter and Weber. The purpose is not so advance polemical and scholarly debate but to focus upon the influence that their ideas-which he justly called living thoughts-have come lung upon contemporary perceptions of social really to particular, the contributors to this volume highlight the relevance of the theoretical propositions of these four theorists to an understanding of the nature of capitalis today in both developed and developing countries.