Adam Smith vs Karl Marx Part one
Adam Smith Enlighten Thinker I hate Mercantilism! Enlightenment = natural law A.S. was from Scotland and wrote at the height of the British Empire. Mercantilism was a managed economy. The Mother County would tell colonies exactly what to produce: Raw Materials And also what to consume: Manufactured products from England
A very sweet deal for British manufacturers Mercantilism meant big profits for them The British consumer and those in the colonies got a raw deal
Nepotism: when you favor friends and family Adam Smith was not impressed: Mercantilism was unnatural Time for a change! Mercantilism was inefficient
Laissez-Faire or hands off! Print money Defend the nation Maintain transportation facilities Anything else was UNNATURAL!
Oh no!!! It’s the invisible hand of Adam Smith! Competition in a free market The MARKET refers to the forces of supply and demand operating without government interference.
The Wealth of Nations 1776 Everyone pursue your own interests When everyone pursues their own interests society benefits How could this be?????
Consider Bill Gates Wealth is not a finite resource Bill Gates founded Microsoft, and 90 billion dollars was created out of thin air. Not only did he make himself rich, but others as well. WEALTH IS CREATED!
Survival of the fittest economics style 80 years before Darwin’s book Adam Smith portrays a world similar to Darwin’s natural selection. He believed it was the natural order.