Adam Smith vs. Karl Marx

Adam Smith and Karl Marx are the greatest economic analysts the world has ever seen. Adam Smith is considered as the father of modern day economics whereas Karl Marx is considered as the father of Communism. Karl Marx is one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century, though he lived in the 19th. As one of the original minds behind communism and a fundamental revolutionary, he is renowned as a radical and somewhat dangerous political philosopher. Adam Smith is the father of economics as a science. As a member of the school of classical economic thought, Smith fused economics with moral theory regarding the way man ought to live. Smith’s explanations of market forces and the role of the state in economics have shaped our capitalist economic system today. These men have together been placed in the school of classical economics, signaling that there are similarities in their ideology. Politically, however, these men differ greatly. Adam Smith believed in the liberty of all individuals through a capitalistic approach. Smith argued that capital for the production and distribution of wealth could work most effectively in the absence of government interference. Such a laissez-faire—that is, “leave alone” or “allow to be”— a term he spoke about in his book “Wealth of Nations”. In his opinion, encourage the most efficient operation of private and commercial enterprises. He was not against government involvement in public projects too large for private investment, but rather objected to its meddling in the market mechanism. Marx believed there is no such thing as a laissez-faire capitalist society. He believed that Socialism would replace capitalism. In his opinion, a labor- wage war will break down the society and lead to the downfall of the economic composition. Karl Marx was a critic of capitalism and believed in individual freedom. Modern capitalism traces its roots to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations, which has served, perhaps more than any