Abstract: In contemporary western world, the democratic practice is to a great extent running according to the model of elitist democracy. Joseph Schumpeter is the greatest contributor to western elitist democratic theory. Schumpeter’s democratic thought is greatly influenced by his preceding theorists. So we can not understand the cause and effect of elitist democratic theory until we hold the relations between Schumpeter and his preceding theorists. Such preceding elitist theorists as Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca and Robert Michels provided Schumpeter with inverse material through their criticism on democracy. And Marx Weber’s comment on democracy was obverse source of Schumpeter’s elitist democratic theory. Schumpeter’s most contribution to democratic theory is his redefinition about democracy. He effectively combined political elitists with democracy so as to make western democratic theory out of the embarrassed condition.