Enterprise and Businessman In the Theory of Economics

The author analyses in detail the terms enterprise and businessman. The enterprise development has been divided into four periods: agrarian period, industrial period, information period and information-globalisation period. Those periods have been analysed in details. The especially important is the present, fourth period of information and globalisation. The term enterprise have been defined according to various methods, especially interesting definition has been found in the XIX century Polish Language Vocabulary. In the analysis the controversial problem of the gain maximization emerged. The definition of businessman has been analysed according to the similar methods including legal regulations of the XXI century. The important issue is the new definition of businessman that has been proposed, the one that should be accepted in the beginning of new century.