ipl-logo

Adam Smith And Karl Polanyi's Analysis

930 Words4 Pages

Ayse Meryem Gürpınar Akbulut October 11, 2016 SPL 501 / On Adam Smith and Karl Polanyi Adam Smith and Karl Polanyi are philosophers of two different eras, 18th and 20th centuries respectively. While the former witnessed early periods of the capitalist system with the emergence of the industrial revolution, the latter had opportunity to analyze the consequences of a mature capitalist system. Since both of them believe in social being of humans, they differ in methodological terms while analyzing the human beings. Smith, as employing the methodological individualism, focused on the human nature and human behavior. According to his perspective, a socio-economic system emerges through individual tendencies, intentions, and behaviors without …show more content…

He mentions certain socioeconomic principles of social integration: exchange, reciprocity, and redistribution. Exchange is based on an equal relation between anonymous people and is performed by the market as the institution. On the contrary, reciprocity is based on unequal relation between people who are related through such institutions as family or community. Redistribution can be performed by a state-like structure. While the first principle has only economic function, the latter two principles have different social and political functions too. Therefore, a system based on only an economic principle, namely the market system, has no validity. It is an exceptional phenomenon in which the economy is disembedded from the society as an autonomous domain. This disembedding system renders the elements of production, land, labor, and money, into fictitious commodities. Through agricultural transformation land is included to the market system. Those who have private property on certain lands started to make us of it for the pure interest of themselves by excluding the peasants. Migrated peasants and unemployed city artisans, as a result of industrial developments, consisted a new class who has nothing than its labor force to sell. The legal arrangements such as the New Poor Law for the time, derived the labor class from any social assurance and force them to work in inhumane standards. Money also became a commodity through acceptance of international Gold Standard which deprived the political authorities of the regulation of money. Polanyi’s main argument on this emerging process of the market society, in the contrast to Smith, that the market economy cannot emerge by itself basing on so-called tendency to barter in human nature. He argues by referring to research on modern anthropology and history of trade and

Show More
Related

  • Fur Trade Case Study

    1126 Words  | 5 Pages

    Society was made based off of a system where peasants would work underneath the nobles providing labor, produce, and homage, in return for protection. This transition from feudalism to capitalism is often viewed as the result of a gradual and rising progress of technology, urbanisation, science and trade. Inevitable because humans have always possessed “the propensity to truck, barter and exchange” - Adam Smith (A Scottish economist). Capitalism led to greater income for corporations and many private businesses. Ronald Reagan wanted a return of the free market ideology.

    Read More

  • Adam Smith Beyond A Pin Factory Summary

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beyond a Pin Factory HSS 103 : A History Of IdeasAssignment 1 V. AbhijayIMT2012049 Abstract The concept of division of labour put forth by Adam Smith still continues to be analytically significant, perhaps not in the raw form as stated in his work : An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations(1776). The purpose of this document is to provide an insight into why this concept is still so prevalent in the contemporary societies. Adam Smith's story of the pin-maker has been repeated endlessly by economists as it encapsulates the benefits of one of the earliest production functions, namely division of labour. The story illustrates how much greater output could be achieved by dividing a complex task of making a pin into smaller

    Read More

  • Adam Smith Dbq

    207 Words  | 1 Pages

    Adam Smith believed in individual economic decision-making because the people would be able to pursue their own interests without government input. In Adam Smith’s The Wealth Of Nations, Document C, he writes, “The [ruler] is completely discharged... no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient”. Adam Smith believed that without government interference every man can pursue his own interests in his own way.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Adam Smith And Karl Marx

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    The economic views of Adam Smith and Karl Marx Microeconomics Eduardo De Oliveira Superti   Table of Contents: Abstract 3 Introduction 4 The economic views of Adam Smith 5 The economic views of Karl Marx 6 Adam Smith vs. Karl Marx 7 Examples in the world of today 9 Conclusion 10 Recommendations 11 Bibliography 12 Introduction Adam Smith and Karl Marx were completely contrasting economists throughout their time and had an enormous effect on the world and the way we view economics. They represent the ideas of capitalism and socialism.

    Read More

  • Difference Between The Gospel Of Wealth By Andrew Carnegie

    1158 Words  | 5 Pages

    Name Institution Instructor Date According to Andrew Carnegie ‘The gospel of wealth’ (1889), he emphasizes that the biggest problem of our age is wealth administration. There is a distinction flanked by the rich and the poor where the ties of brotherhood bind them together in a pleasant-sounding relationship. Over the past decades, human life has not only changed but revolutionized with a difference, in the former days between the dwelling, food, dressing and environment of the rich and the have-nots.

    Read More

  • Water Diamond Paradox By Adam Smith

    1355 Words  | 6 Pages

    Adam Smith is an 18th-century philosopher and free-market economist. He is known as the father of economics and is famous for his ideas about the efficiency of the division of labor and the societal benefits of individuals ' pursuit of their own self-interest. Smith is best known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually known as The Wealth of Nations, is the first modern work of economics and the book which is considered in this research. This research will discuss chapter four of The Wealth of Nations (WN), specifically Smith’s paragraph of water diamond paradox.

    Read More

  • Adam Smith: Figure Of The Scottish Enlightenment

    402 Words  | 2 Pages

    Adam Smith Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a figure of the Scottish Enlightenment. He criticized the government's regulation of trade/industry and instead pushed for economic liberalism. He believed in free trade competition based on the idea that the “invisible hand” will benefit all. Smith also advocated for the “division of labor,” which entails separating production into individual tasks that can be specialized. “Division of labor” helps increase the speed and efficiency of workers.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Adam Smith And Karl Marx

    1199 Words  | 5 Pages

    Adam Smith, an advocate of capitalism, in his book, The Wealth of Nations wrote that all individuals are selfish and by performing to the best of their capabilities towards their own selfish interests they contribute towards the nation’s collective growth. Karl Marx, on the other hand criticized capitalism and believed that socialism and communism are society’s best chance of maximizing individual happiness, about which he wrote in his book Das Kapital. In this paper, we will compare and contrast the economics theories of Adam Smith and Karl Marx on the lines of labor theory of value, division of labor, alienation of workers from labor and human happiness and surplus profit and its social implications. This paper will also discuss how… Adam Smith believes that there are two types of ‘values’ of a commodity – ‘utility value’ and ‘exchange value’. The utility value of a commodity is based on how useful a commodity is and the exchange value of a commodity refers to how much we can get in exchange for a commodity if we were to sell it.

    Read More

  • Karl Polanyi: The Emergence Of Market Society

    1282 Words  | 6 Pages

    Taking a look at the evolution of society as a whole, structures from previous social organizations vary drastically from the civilization individuals reside in today; now known as a 'market society.' It has shifted towards a society where members of the community are now solely concerned about economic relations, rather than interpersonal relations. This is what Karl Polanyi refers to the emergence of market society as "the great transformation." The shift towards a market society is characterized by the emergence of a self-regulation society, allowing the birth of fictitious commodities, as well as placing great emphasis towards individualism. It focuses on the significant changes that have taken place since the transformation, which are further discussed through the notion of "protestant work ethic" and the

    Read More

  • Comparing Marx's Views On Fetishism And Commodity

    452 Words  | 2 Pages

    After explaining that “in order to exist, every social formation must reproduce the conditions of its production at the same time as it produces, and in order to be able to produce”, he redefines Marx’s concept of the “state apparatus” and puts a distinction between what he defines as ideological and repressive state apparatuses, offering them as a way of ensuring the aforementioned process. He later deals with two key questions to explain this: how does ideology function, how does the society and the individual become subjected to

    Read More

  • Theories Of Adam Smith, David Ricardo And Karl Marx

    1537 Words  | 7 Pages

    Adam Smith, David Ricardo or Karl Marx are known for many as the pioneers of contemporary economies. Their Work and researches were the bases of most of nowadays economic models used by countries around the world. Adam Smith, David Ricardo and their followers were labeled as the classical economists when later on Karl Marx and his followers were labeled as the Marxists. These two economic schools were some of the biggest in history, but yet differed in many ways. Through this paper, we would discuss the says of the Classical and Marxism schools concerning their views on wages, their different opinions about the theory of value, their sides about capital accumulation and finally the different point of view of the schools regarding the diminishing returns.

    Read More

  • Comparing Adam Smith, Max Weber, And Karl Marx's Division Of Labor

    720 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most important concepts that defined the capitalist economy is the division of labor. Throughout the years, great philosophers such as Adam Smith, Max Weber, and Karl Marx have discussed theories that have drastically changed and molded the modern labor force. Thus, the ideal of labor division was created. Its purpose is to distribute labor skills amongst groups of people and by doing so it enabled workers to build products quickly. From this ideal, it allowed industries to expand their productivity and create trade on a global scale.

    Read More

  • Adam Smith Invisible Hand

    1932 Words  | 8 Pages

    Those natural inclinations that motivate human beings in their economic affairs as mentioned above are most likely being reduced to single quest for gain. In addition, the unemployed will vanish from sight under the new concept of the market, consisting only of those who actively involved in it. It is also worth to mention that the deliberate attempt made to portrait Adam Smith’s ideology in recent times lies well on the modern cultural tool that didn’t exist at all in Smith’s time, which is advertising. The image and status of Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations have been made part and parcels of a sales pitch; let it from the perspective of economic, political and social

    Read More

  • Socialism Vs Communism

    346 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 19th century, the Industrial age began and people began to rethink the way the economic system worked. Two major systems rose, socialism and capitalism, both of which have positives and negatives. Some people felt that capitalism was unfair and they were being oppressed whereas others felt the lack of the government’s influence gave them a sense of liberation and hope. Some believed that humans wanted to work for the greater good, whereas others believe humans were selfish. Both factions of people commonly agreed that each system was to benefit the greater good of the people.

    Read More

  • Ag Frank Underdevelopment Summary

    1478 Words  | 6 Pages

    His approach takes into account the capitalist system as a whole. His work helps us to account for the disparities evidenced in the world between the developed and the underdeveloped world as a result of capitalism. This may be used as a basis for prescribing long term solutions to continued underdevelopment in third world

    Read More

More about Adam Smith And Karl Polanyi's Analysis

Open Document