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Karl Marx Vs Adam Smith Essay

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Freedom is the ability to choose—but what freedom can choose transforms the meaning of freedom. Freedom marks one of the schisms between the ideas of Adam Smith and Karl Marx in that Smith characterizes freedom from an economic standpoint, whereas Marx defines it from a social standpoint. While Smith is concerned with the process of uninterrupted free trade and how individuals can freely pursue their self-interest through market interactions, Marx is concerned with the life-activity of individuals and the effects of estranged labor, by which an individual is forced to utilize his or her life-activity in a manner that is not a true and voluntary expression of oneself. Both Smith and Marx have valid perspectives of what freedom can entail, but only one of their standpoints grants an individual true freedom. …show more content…

As long as humans “do not violate the laws of justice,” they are free to pursue their self-interest, acting upon their disposition to exchange in their own ways, and to bring their industries and capital into competition with those of others (Smith 16 and 745). Individuals are free to decide how they will satisfy their needs and can produce objects through their labor and earn wages for producing those objects, with which individuals can purchase more capital. When left uninterrupted, this system of free trade will lead to the growth of wealth in a nation, which in turn benefits its denizens. Individuals also have the freedom to move between trades in order to continue earning profits by selling a commodity when its market price is above the natural price. By pursuing their own interests, individuals will be led by an “invisible hand” and promote the interests of society without even intending to do so (Smith 485). Freedom for the individual thus bolsters a nation’s

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Adam Smith, born in 1723, laid the foundation for classical economics in the eighteenth century and established a paradigm on how to tackle economic decisions on a micro and macro level. Smith’s Wealth of Nation’s outlined many of contemporary economics’ key concepts and laws that offered radical criticisms against the dominant economic thinking of the time, mercantilism. Karl Marx, born in 1818, bore witness to the technological innovations and social conditions that came along with the Industrial Revolution, rise of capitalism, and the growth of Europe’s oversea empires. Marx wrote Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, which sharply criticized Smith’s benevolent depictions of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. Smith and Marx wrote from different vantage points in history but both offered insights into the changing worlds around them.

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Observational Responses The overall composition of the Great Round is strikingly distinctive. Each piece has its own color palate, movement, axis relationship, and powerful metaphor. I notice a duality in each piece, some more balanced than others. Pieces are either fully contained in the circle, mostly contained, intentionally disregarded, or symbolically outside.

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Marx and Arendt are two brilliant political theorists who pose different concerns, beliefs and ideals when it comes to the relationship between economics and freedom. Marx defines freedom as creative self- actualization which contrasts Arendt’s definition of freedom as worldly and eruptive action. Marx’s definition is more focused on the individual, which in turn will better society while Arendt is more focused on action as community. Marx believes in a society free from economic oppression by the elite while Arendt believes in one where poverty and politics do not meet. Economics and freedom, according to Marx, are intertwined in such a way that they cannot be separated.

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The Age of Reason In Europe, during the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, many philosophers gathered together to discuss their different but similar ideas to help shape the world we live in today. In the late 17th and 18th century, four enlightenment philosophers named John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft focused on the same main idea. They believed in individual rights and presented their arguments through religion, government, economics, and equality for women.

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Adam Smith, also known as the champion of “Perfect Liberty,” stated, “Every man…is left perfectly free to pursue his own interests in his own way… As every individual therefore, endeavors as much as he can both to employ his capital in support of …industry, and so direct that industry that its produce may be of greatest value… (contributes to) the annual revenue of society... ”(Wider Impact of Enlightenment) He believed this theory, also known as the “Invisible Hand,” would prove most effective. If people used their new freedom provided by the Enlightenment to go against Mercantilism and work and sell their products independently, society would benefit for the better.

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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.

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Which economic philosopher had the greater impact on Western society going into the late 19th century, Adam Smith or Karl Marx? Well both prominent economists are well known for their distinct theoretical contributions to society. Let’s take a look into each of their theories: Adam Smith was a believer in the free market, basically he believed that producers could produce any amount of an item they wish, then charge the consumer the price they felt was reasonable. Smith believed this would result in the best economic outcome for both the producer and the consumer. This theory allowed each to maximize their own benefit in the transaction.

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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

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Both Karl Marx and Adam Smith shared a position that the economy was split between labor and capital. Both, Marx and Smith, believed that increases in output would result in subsequent increases in capital accumulation. The similarities, however, between the two economists end there. Smith’s ideologies goes on to suggest that capital accumulations are redistributed back to the labor-class through increases in the wage fund and that growth in the economy leads to growth among both classes.

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From the cooperation among civilians by a division of labor, to the limitations of government in an effort to achieve a free and competitive market, to the prioritization of the individual profit motive and accumulation of personal wealth, Smith argues that society can succeed in such an environment. Even though Smith’s economic platform revolved around a pre-Industrial Revolution era, his solutions to economic prosperity via the free economy allowed for an adaptable and flexible system. Nowadays, the idea of pursuing one’s own self interest is viewed as narcissistic, and oftentimes overlooked due to the accumulation of personal wealth. Government regulations force wealthy individuals to give a higher portion of their wealth for the betterment of the society, which some may view as unproportionable to their benefits from living in society. Simpler, fairer ways of devising a tax regulation have been proven to promote economic growth, however the current economic platform is seen to be arbitrary and obscure.

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2266 Words | 10 Pages

Amongst the most prominent economists of the last few centuries, Karl Marx and Adam Smith are noted for their distinct contributions to economic thought. They are both great revolutionaries and thinkers in their own unique ways. Marx’s work in economics laid the basis for much of the current understanding of labor and its relation to capital, while Smith was a pioneer of political economy simultaneously laying down the essential foundations of classical free market economic theory. Though the two may seem different from each other in many ways, they also may have more similarities to each other than one might think. To understand Smith’s Theory of Capital Accumulation, we must first understand Smith’s view of what stock is.

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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.

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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.

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Brad Conley Prof. Greg Young IAFS 1000-1004 Though the international system today shares many aspects of realism, neoliberalism, constructivism, and marxism, neoliberalism is the predominant principles under which the international system operates. With the formation of several influential international governmental organizations (IGOs), the world has become a much safer place. Though neoliberal ideas draw from realism in the fact that the international system is in anarchy, neoliberalism dictates that the world is in a form of structured anarchy, perpetuated by the IGOs that governments partake in. By strengthening webs of interdependence, countries find the ability to interact amicably, and build up reliance upon one another. As countries

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