> > Beethovan was an entrepreneur.
>
> Any evidence for this bizarre claim, or was this posting really
> supposed to go to alt.fan.milton.friedman?
While he lived in Bonn he worked for the court. Beethoven did organize some public concerts for his own benefit after he moved to Vienna, and while his hearing was good he performed extensively in public, as well as teaching, and there were publisher's fees, too. But he also angled for gifts from nobles through dedications, and was receptive to the prospect of a steady job. And for a good number of years during the middle of his life, this was supplemented by a stipend organized by a number of the nobility, who wanted to keep him in Vienna. It wasn't always a comfortable income, because of inflation and the bankruptcy of one of the donors, but it did help to supplement his income significantly for some of his most productive years.
So I think it's stretching things to call him an "entrepreneur", especially if the implication is that he preferred it that way.
Best, Peter
> John
I don't believe that it's true that the poor will always be with us. I think that kind of pious fatalism is just an excuse for keeping things the way they are. --Margaret Culkin Banning, The quality of Mercy, 1963