Smith vs. Marx - a Comparison Essay

Contemporary economics are best explained by comparing two foundational thinkers that have contributed to the better understanding of liberalism, one being its proponent Adam Smith and the other being its most significant critic, Karl Marx. Both thinkers are profoundly important in locating and investigating the roots of neoliberalism as well as exploring alternatives ways to challenge neoliberal economics in the face of its post-cold war expansion as the inevitable and only alternative to redistribution and economic justice. This essay traces the emerging ideas of classical liberalism as articulated by Smith and their subsequent deployment in the debates that produced neoliberalism. In this context, Marx and Marxism are utilized to expose and deconstruct the shortcomings of both liberalism and neoliberalism and their limits in providing solutions to the structural symptoms of liberal and neoliberal capitalism.

A nation is just a vast establishment, where the labour of each, however diverse in character, adds to the wealth of all. Two brilliant people of their time are both respected in their views for creating a near perfect society where everyone is happy. Adam Smith, a respected Scottish political economist philosopher born in 1723, had the goal of perfect liberty for all individuals through the capitalistic approach. While Karl Marx, born in 1818, believed in individual freedom for society and intellectually criticized capitalism giving reasons as to why it was irrational and why it would fail. Adam Smith’s very first sentence claims that, "The greatest improvement in the productive powers

Karl Marx and Adam Smith wrote in the same time period – during the industrial revolution, where the bourgeois had risen to power by oppressing and exploiting the proletariat. The term bourgeois refers to the people in the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labor. The proletarians are the people in the class of modern wage laborers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live. While Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, wrote in favor of capitalism, Marx, in his Communist Manifesto, was a harsh critic of the system and declared its inevitable destruction and consequent rise of the working class.

Marx thought of capitalism in a pessimistic way, he saw the relationship between the employee and employer in a capitalistic society as toxic. To Marx, in a capitalistic society the employee would always be at a constant struggle for power be never endlessly repressed by the bourgeoisie. The employer would pay employees only what they needed to survive making it impossible to move up in class or society. He also recognized that in capitalism everything becomes corporatized. Things like marriage go from a sacred bond between two individuals that once never included money or the government, to something that is regulated by the national government and must be done through the federal court and include ties between the individual's financial status. Small businesses would also become corporatized, a local family doctor has now become part of a larger practice that brings in complex forms of payment such as insurance instead of simply paying a small family doctor directly. He also goes into the downfall of capitalism. The way capitalism works is through a series of economic highs and lows, each high is marked by prosperous times, high employment rate, and overall happiness. But the lows are marked by deterioration of the national economy, low employment rates, and struggle for all classes. To Marx’s these highs and lows are what's killing capitalism with each low being worse than the last until the people revolt and create a new form of government. The next would be socialism and once this fell like capitalism, the new governing system would be communism. Communism is an ideal system where people are never struggling for money and are paid based on their needs rather than their particular job. Through this system a

Way back in 1776 the English economist Adam Smith asserted that a free market economy would best promote economic growth and raise living standards (Schiller, p.3). As he saw it, the pursuit of profits would induce capitalists to improve products, reduce prices, and advance technology also known as market capitalism (Schiller, p.3-4). He promoted the idea of laissez-faire meaning no government involvement (Schiller, p.4). On the other hand, Karl Marx, a German philosopher, had a different view of a market capitalism. Marx predicated that the capitalist system of private ownership would eventually self-destruct (Schiller, p.4). The capitalists who owned the land, the factories, and the machinery would continue exploiting working class until it rose up and overthrew the social order (Schiller, p.4). He believed that long-term prosperity

Smith and Marx agree upon the importance of capitalism as unleashing productive powers. Capitalism is born out of the division of labour... that is, it is made possible by dividing jobs up into simple tasks as a way of increasing efficiency. By increasing efficiency, then everyone can produce more than they personally need. The extra produced can go towards the accumulation of capital, (machines, more land, more tools, etc) which will allow for even more increased efficiency and production. Both thought that this increased production was great. But Marx said that capitalism was only one stage... that every country must go through capitalism, to get that increased production, but that capitalism is

Oftentimes in society conflict arises between people over what is best for our economy and overall society. In modern day America, citizens and politicians alike debate with far-right ideas like Donald Trump along with far-left views like Bernie Sanders. Those in favor of the far-right are often in agreement with theories of the economist, Adam Smith, an inspiration to today’s capitalism. On the other end of the spectrum, the far-left have similar perspectives as those of the philosopher, Karl Marx who believe in socialism. To better understand why people, such as Marx are against our current economic system one must acknowledge that capitalism is an ideology that gives rise to inequality in the world, and human inequality is a result of

An important aspect of Smith's views, were taxes. In one of Smith's many opinions regarding human nature, he explains that the rich, once placed in a position of power, maintain that power through their dealings within a civil government which employs men of inferior wealth, to protect the wealthy lands of the rich. In layman’s terms a community with the bare minimum has little violence since there is nothing to fight over, but one with plush property and wealth, has a plethora of people fighting over one another. This is where Smith's views of taxes comes into play. In his world, the government would impose taxation, with the intentions of discouraging improper or luxurious behavior which he believed did not benefit society as a whole. (Smith, pp.18-20) When discussing human nature in the sociological spectrum, Smith likens humans to animals, or dogs in particular. The typical reliance of animals, once they're matured,on no one but themselves (becoming independents), is a characteristic that humans do not follow. I believe Smith's

Modern political economic theory and philosophy can be greatly attributed to the works of two men who seemingly held polar opposite views on the subject. Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher, published his most well-known work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776 and is most often associated with the ideas and principles of the political economic system known as Capitalism. At the other end of the spectrum is Karl Marx; the German philosopher most often associated with Communism and the author (or co-author) of The Communist Manifesto. This paper seeks to discuss the core differences in their respective political economic philosophies with regards to what economic value is and what the role of government should be in their versions of political economy. This will conclude with the argument that while Smith 's work had laid the foundation for modern economic philosophy, it was Marx who would ultimately leave the most significant impression upon the world with his revolutionary ideas.

In his book Born in Blood & Fire, John Chasteen defines Progress as any transformation that made Latin America similar to European and US models, resulting in human improvement. These transformations included the application of advanced technology, new political aspects, and economic growth. Neocolonialism was born from Progress, which can be explained as the influence foreign countries had on Latin America’s colonization. There was, however, different views on which way Progress should be achieved Latin America. Adam Smith and Karl Marx are examples of the main two views. Adam Smith, a Scottish Philosopher, was a critique of controlled markets and supported the idea that consumers should be able to engage in a free market in order to achieve overall self- profit. As a believer in capitalism, Smith also viewed private property and overall self- interest as positives. Implementing these ideas without the interference of the government, Smith believed, led to unlimited wealth and the most desirable economic outcome. Karl Marx, on the contrary, believed that poor people suffered for the benefit of the higher social class. Co-author of the famous document, The Communist Manifesto, Marx supported communism, the abortion of distinguished social classes, and developed into one of the widely known critics of capitalism; Marx believe that the idea of capitalism gave an advantage to the people who were already rich and gave no opportunity for the working class to rise socially or

Throughout history, there have been countless economists and economic theories. Over time they have changed, and evolved into the theories we know and use today. Many different economists have had many different theories and beliefs on what is best for the economy. Adam Smith and Karl Marx are perhaps two of the most famous economists as of today. Even Though Smith and Marx were alive at different times and they both had different views, they both wanted stable economies. They had similar views on economics and how it changes, but they also had drastically different ideas and theories about where the economy was headed and how to maintain economic order.

There is perhaps not a more famous ongoing dialectic argument in the field of political economy than the one between Adam Smith and Karl Marx in regards to capitalism. The two thinkers, although coming to radically different conclusions about the outcomes of the capitalist system for all parties involved, agree on a surprising number of ideas such as labor being the source of commodities’ value, as well as the fact that the division of labor increases productivity. However, their different conceptions of what determines the price of a commodity, the driving force behind and the effects of the division of labor, and the purpose of the capitalist system have widespread implications that cause their holistic arguments to diverge considerably.

The advent of the ideal of capitalism is often attributed to Adam Smith. Sometimes called “The Father of Economics,” Smith was an 18th century moral philosopher from Scotland. Smith is perhaps most known for writing the book “An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” In this book Adam Smith considers and advances the ideas of the division of labor, the invisible hand, the pursuit of self-interest, the proper role of government and the idea of a Laissez-Faire (or noninterventionist) economy. Each of these ideas were considered heavily during the establishment and development of the United States. Because of their adoption into the new American government, the United States became the forerunner to the free-market.

This essay will compare the economic principles of capitalism and communism by giving brief historical background on both and describing the two. I will begin with the father of economy, Adam Smith, and finish with the theories of Karl Marx.

Adam Smith is considered as one of the most influential economists in the 18th century. Although his theories have been criticized by several socialist economists, however, his idea of capitalism still has great impact to the rest of the economists during classical, neo classical periods and the structure of today’s economy. Even the former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher had praised on Smith’s contribution on today’s capitalism market. She commented “Adam Smith, in fact, heralded the end of the strait-jacket of feudalism and released all the innate energy of private initiative and enterprise which enable wealth to be created on a scale never before contemplated” (Copley and Sutherland 1995, 2). Smith is also being recognized