ABSTRACT
The presence or absence of entrepreneurship in a particular country or region is frequently attributed to the culture of the society that inhabits it. While it is far from being "operational," and while it can hardly be said to have been "applied" during the development decades, the Weber-Tawney thesis regarding the rise of capitalism remains important for the enormous influence it has had on social thought. Joseph Schumpeter ranks among the all time greats in the history of economic thought. He has special interest for this survey of economic thought because virtually alone in his generation of economists his main interest was in economic development. Veblen was at the opposite pole to Schumpeter where entrepreneurs are concerned. Where Schumpeter had only limited respect for inventors, and reserved his special admiration for the innovators, the entrepreneurs who take over where scientists and engineers leave off and create new enterprises, Veblen admired the inventor and had no faith in the entrepreneur.
