Discovering Rhetoric: The Ecology of Enterprise in the Bourgeois Era

Abstract

Deirdre McCloskey's Bourgeois Dignity deploys Israel Kirzner's theory of entrepreneurial discovery as a critical component in her explanation of the Industrial Revolution. This essay examines whether Kirzner's theory can bear the analytical load that McCloskey would place on it. I identify two potential incongruities between Kirzner's theory and McCloskey's historical account but find them both unconvincing. Kirzner's entrepreneur is a good fit for McCloskey's story. I argue further that the fit can be strengthened by incorporating further elements of Kirzner's theory, including entrepreneurial alertness.

Keywords: Industrial Revolution, Entrepreneurship, Rhetoric

JEL Classification: B53, O1, N13