If the power to tax stems from the need to finance standing armies, as Schumpeter claims, what about the more expensive navies? The answer demonstrated in this book is that Schumpeter was right. We cannot document a single case of a tax financed navy. This work has been generously supported by the Kyriazis family foundation. (Series: Wirtschaft: Forschung und Wissenschaft - Vol. 27) *** "The purpose of this work is to examine the economic theories of Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), who proposed that 'creative destruction' of older economic models is necessary for economic progress. . . . will prove of great interest to students of the rise of permanent military institutions." - The NYMAS Review, No. 57, Winter-Spring 2014 Subject: Military Studies, Naval Studies]