Political entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship involves people taking a risk in order to create new ventures. Traditionally
entrepreneurs have been associated with the world of business, however the term is used in the political arena also. For example Choi Taewook (2004) writes:
A political entrepreneur refers to a political player who seeks to gain certain political and social benefits in return for providing the common goods that can be shared by an unorganized general public. These common goods that political entrepreneurs attempt to provide to the populace generally include foreign- and domestic-related public policy, while the benefits they hope to gain involve voter support, public recognition, and personal popularity. Hence the term
Political entrepreneur can refer to someone who founds a new political project or group, or a politician who seeks to further a new and ambitious policy to further his political career.
However the term is also used in a very different way by those that wish to contrast what they see as a pure "market entrepreneur" with someone that uses the political system to further a commercial venture or their own career. On this definition a political entrepreneur is a business
entrepreneur who seeks to gain
profit through
subsidies,
protectionism, government contracts, or other such favorable arrangements with government(s) through political influence (also known as
corporate welfare). Ed Younkins (2000) writes
Political entrepreneurs seek and receive help from the state and, therefore, are not true entrepreneurs. In practice, the division between the market entrepreneur and the political entrepreneur can be hazy. Many business entrepreneurs share both characteristics in varying degrees. The term appears to have been coined by
Burton W. Folsom Jr. in his book,
The Myth of the Robber Barons.
Social entrepreneur,
Politician,
Crony capitalism,
Corporate welfare*
Choi Taewook (2004) "Promoting a Northeast Asia Economic Integration Policy", Korea Focus, May-April, 2004, vol 12, no 2.*
Younkins, E. (2000) "Entrepreneurship Properly Understood", Le Quebecois Libre, July 8, 2000, No. 64.
