From Adam Smith to Karl Marx: The Power of Ideas.

     Adam Smith to Karl Marx:                  The Power of Ideas.

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Adam Smith to Karl Marx:   The Power of Ideas Beginning in the mid 18th century, the ideological seeds were sown for the ideological conflict of the Cold War. (www.thismodernworld.com/media / gra/marriedcommie.jpg)

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   Smith to Marx        Capitalism The Scottish Philosopher, Adam Smith, has been cal ed the first economist and the father of capitalism. He published his greatest work, “Wealth of Nations” in 1776. (www.thedebatesite.org/ plethora/smith.gif)

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   Smith to Marx        Capitalism Like al the men we wil Smith believed that meet in this book, Smith goods and services was a product of his (wealth) would be most times. After closely effectively created if observing the relatively government al owed smal industries of people to pursue their England and Scotland he own individual self came to a few insightful interests in competition conclusions. with others.

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  Smith to Marx        Capitalism He described this process as an “Invisible Hand” pushing land, labor & capital into production that would best meet the needs of society. (members.aol.com/tacconimosaic/ maurod.htm)

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  Smith to Marx        Capitalism As Smith explains, it is Smith also recognized not due to the generosity that for “self interest” to of the butcher or baker be channeled to meet the that we should expect our meat and bread. needs of society, it is Instead, we should important that suppliers appeal to their selfish- were in competition with ness. We should reward other business firms. those suppliers who Otherwise their greed produce quality products would result in consumers with profit. Thus, our paying high prices for needs are met via their shoddy goods. own pursuit of wealth.

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    Smith to Marx       Industrial  Capitalism For additional Larger and larger information about factories sprung up and Smith’s ideas take a look people flocked to cities at an excel ent summary to work as farm jobs taken from Robert became scarce. Without Heilbroner’s any government The Worldly regulations to temper Philosophers. business greed, the continuing push for As the Industrial greater and greater Revolution progressed in profits resulted in England, conditions deteriorating working began to change rapidly conditions.

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    Smith to Marx       Industrial­ Capitalism Some of these abuses were chronicled by Charles Dickens and others. As the number of social critics increased, business owners looked for a way to justify their treatment of workers. They found it in the ideas of “Social Darwinism” (www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/blackin gfa ctory_dickens.gif)

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   Smith to Marx     Industrial  Capitalism Charles Darwin had published his In brief, Spencer stated that those ideas regarding Natural Selection people and races that were best in 1859. suited to survive would prosper and those that were not, would suffer. This he believed, explained why the working class should not be aided by government or private charities. (www.time.com/time/europe/photoessa ys/ darwin/2.html) His ideas regarding the evolution of species were quickly applied to people and society by Herbert Spencer and others. (65.107.211.206/painting/ misc/agrant1.html)

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Smith to Marx            Industrial  Capitalism If they were poor it was not because industrial capitalism was unjust, it was because they did not possess the talents and characteristics need to thrive. He phrased this “the survival of the fittest”. (www.umbc. edu/…/RitDop/ Discovery-of-Poverty-for-CHE.htm)

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Smith to Marx   Industrial  Capitalism Obviously this idea could also be used by the wealthy to explain their success. They were simply being rewarded for their industry an talents. (www.victorian crapper.com/ VictorianBath.HTML)

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Smith to Marx Marxism Not al observers of Industrial Capitalism interpreted the terrible poverty of the period in the same manner as Spencer. Karl Marx examined the same conditions but came to some very different conclusions. (users.pandora.be/worldhistory/ pages/marx.htm)

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Smith to Marx  Marxism Marx believed that industrial capitalism was merely the last in a long line of socio-economic systems that resulted in the exploitation of the workers by the upper classes. (www.fes.de/marx/capit.htm)

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Smith to Marx  Marxism He further went on to numbers of worker, who he cal ed the “Proletariat” predict that capitalism contained within it the seeds of its own destruction. He believed that the cut- throat competition between industries would result in fewer surviving business firms and greater (www.stanford.edu/…/political/ balushek_proletariat.jpg)

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Smith to Marx  Marxism  Eventual y, poverty that people would no would be so extensive, longer have enough money left to buy the products that the industries were producing. At that point there would be a revolution by the proletariat and capitalism would end. (www.uecenter.org/internship/ info.htm)

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Smith to Marx   Conclusion While Marx’s predictions What al of these men obviously have not come have in common was a to pass, his critical views desire to analyze the of the abused of working conditions in which they and living conditions lived. As we continue to were in many way examine economic justified. The world has theories keep in mind the changed dramatical y importance of since these men wrote, understanding the but their ideas continue societal conditions that to influence people and spawned the resulting events. economic analysis.

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. (www.mootrealm.com/marx.htm) Th T e h  e e n  e d n

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