Why Did Cantillon Change the Meaning of Entrepreneurship?

Authors

  • Mark Thornton Mises Institute, Alburn, AL, United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30800/mises.2019.v7.1241

Keywords:

Richard Cantillon, Entrepreneurship, History of Economic Thought, history

Abstract

In breaking with the policy regime of mercantilism, Richard Cantillon put forth a manuscript in 1730, wherein he produced the first treatise of economic theory. Key to this development was his new theory of entrepreneurship which allowed him to construct economic theories and concepts. Recent research has shown that he did not coin the term, but rather radically changed the meaning of an existing term, to its near opposite. This paper explores why he changed the meaning of the entrepreneur. The speculative answer is both theoretical and based on his life experience.

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Author Biography

Mark Thornton, Mises Institute, Alburn, AL, United States

Mark Thornton is Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. He serves as the Book Review Editor for the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. He has published 7 books and dozens of journal articles, chapters, and essays. He is on the editorial boards of seven Austro-libertarians journals.

References

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THORNTON, Mark. Turning the Word Upside Down: How Cantillon Redefined the Entrepreneur. Working Paper: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2019.

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Published

2019-11-07

How to Cite

1.
Thornton M. Why Did Cantillon Change the Meaning of Entrepreneurship?. MisesJournal [Internet]. 2019 Nov. 7 [cited 2024 Nov. 21];7(3). Available from: https://revistamises.org.br/misesjournal/article/view/1241

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Section

Original Research Articles