The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics: A “Creative Betrayal” of Schumpeter’s Vision

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their “contributions to understanding innovation-driven economic growth.” Among them, Aghion and Howitt were honored for their work on how sustained growth can arise through “creative destruction.” However, if Joseph Schumpeter could see how his concept of creative destruction has been repackaged as a theoretical justification for government intervention, he would be rolling in his grave.

Birth of a Nation, Death of an Ideal

Today’s politicians are heavily indebted to Alexander Hamilton for pushing the machinery of big government under their control. In assessing Hamilton’s role, it’s important to remember that the country formally began for the second time in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified by nine of the thirteen states. Neither the Articles of Confederation nor the Constitution would have been created had it not been for the Declaration of Independence in 1776.