Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy is a book by Joseph Schumpeter, written in the English language and representing one of the central works of his career as an economist and political economist.

Schumpeter was born on 8 February 1883 in Třešť, in the territory then known as Cisleithania. He received his early education at the Theresianum before proceeding to the University of Vienna. Over the course of his life he worked across a range of roles — as an economist, political economist, political scientist, university teacher, jurist, and politician — and he held citizenship in Austria, Germany, and the United States. He worked in both German and English, and he was also a book collector.

Schumpeter brought to his writing career the education he had received at the Theresianum and the University of Vienna, along with the professional experience accumulated across his varied roles. He wrote Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy in English, consistent with his use of that language alongside German, and the book stands as the single most prominent title associated with his name in the scholarly record.

Schumpeter died on 8 January 1950 in Salisbury. The Library of Congress records him under the authorized label "Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1883-1950," a designation that spans the sixty-six years of his life and encompasses his work as an economist, political economist, anthropologist, political scientist, university teacher, jurist, politician, and book collector — a range of occupations that few scholars of his era matched.