E term "entrepreneur" as ordinarily employed in economic liter> ature is a holdover from the classical era of political economy, when individual proprietorships and partnerships were predominant and when those who possessed the ownership equities in corporations were supposed to exercise effective decision-making power. Now, in its customary definitions, it fits neither the requirements of modern theory nor the historical pattern marked by concentrations of power in government, labor groups, and officers of the firm. A revision of the concept is appropriate. Recent discussion has emphasized the importance of this fact; current usage of the term is unsettled, although its definition and the considerations underlying choice of a definition are vital both to an accurate account of the structure and functioning of an economy and to research in economic history.' Accordingly, this paper is an argument to advance the proposition that the firm is the entrepreneur. In order to support this proposition, traditional definitions must be examined and the reasons for rejecting them made clear. Furthermore, the nature of the firm must be explained, the significance.of its decisionmaking organization emphasized, and the roles of those functionaries having relations with the firm orientated. The en-