More importantly for Schumpeter, this scale-shift takes a cultural toll. Whereas in the past “the rugged individualism of Galileo was the individualism of the rising capitalist class,” today, technology and bureaucracy have together removed the possibilities for such individuals to thrive. As he laments, “the capitalist process rationalizes behavior and ideas and by doing so chases from our minds … metaphysical belief” such that “economic progress becomes depersonalized and automatized.” When large firms take over production it is not the entrepreneur's income that is replaced. After all, he gets shares in these new conglomerates. Rather, his social function is made redundant, “the stock exchange [being] a poor substitute for the holy grail.” This may lead to a material progress, to more consumption and all that Keynes thinks important, but it is for Schumpeter a morally empty future.

Mark Blyth, Austerity, loc. 350