In
class this past week we talked about different economic theories from the views
of Adam Smith who was born in 1723 and Karl Marx who was born in 1818. They were
born in different periods and their opinions were definitely opposite from one
another. These two men have very different ideas and views on how the economy
should run. Smith would be described today as a republican where Marx would be
looked at as a democrat most likely even farther left then the standard
democrat. Smith is known as the “father of modern economics” he was a supporter
of a capitalistic economy. His idea of
government would be lassiez-faire known as “hands off” he would ideally like
very little government involvement and regulation in the economy. He wants
people to have the ability to pursue personal gains. On the other hand Marx’s
view is that we can do better than capitalism. He believed that capitalism
represented inequality. Being very influential, Marx helped form the concept of
socialist states and is the founder of the communist movement. Marxism greatly
influenced labor unions in the workforce. In the book “Communist Manifesto”
Mark talks about the terms bourgeoisie and proletariat to describe two classes
of people. Bourgeoisie are the owners of company’s and wealthier where
proletariats are the workers. Ne believed that the bourgeoisie continually
exploited the proletariats. The foundation of capitalism exploited a group of
workers in this case the proletariats. When I reflect on these different views
I definitely find myself connecting to Karl Marx’s views. I wouldn’t
necessarily go as far as socialism and communism but I think we need a
combination of these ideologies along with capitalism. Capitalism is now seen
as the global economy. I think it mat be beneficial if we consider changing to
a new type of economy, however I think that would take quite some time and we
would have to consider if we want to fix the problems with capitalism or if we
want to completely get rid of it.
I
picked out a short clip from YouTube that reenacts Adam Smith and Karl Marx. It
illustrates the type of conversation they would have if they were both alive at
the same point in time. It shows their views with a little bit of humor.
I appreciate your post this week. You did a great job of giving brief histories of Smith and Marx. I am unsure as to which economy would be the best for humankind, if a single economy could actually fit into this diverse world. On a personal level, I tend to lean away from capitalism. It's hard to think of being involved in an alternate way of life because I have been immersed in capitalism for 23 years. As ideal as a pure communist society may seem, I agree that a change is not in the near future. Capitalism is embedded in our society and is spreading across the globe. I would like to think that we may someday reach a better solution that would result in more equality, but my imagination struggles to even picture that yet.
ReplyDeleteGood job summarizing the beliefs reflected in Marx and Smith's work. I too lean towards Marxist theory. I wouldn't equate Smith and Marx to Republicans and Democrats though. It seems to me that Smith would be appalled by the current state of the Capitalist economy (in that it appears as if it is a "free-market" however many loans, subsidies, and other forms of capital are given to corporations in a very unequal manner through lobbying or even bribery). Marx similarly most likely would see a lot to dislike in the Democratic party because they too are completely beholden to the Bourgeoisie (i.e. the revolving door of members of elite Wall Street firms like Citigroup and the Obama Administration is a particularly problematic feature from a Marxist perspective). Overall, this is a very good entry and it gave me a lot to think about going into today's class.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also very intersting how two of the biggest sociological theories are vastly different. Of course the time period is important to consider when one is looking at the basis of the theories. I would also agree with Karl Marx more and would say that communism is a little much but capitalism does make us lose who we are as human. It would be nice to see some of the connections to how these two theories connect to an aspect or more than one in today's news. Otherwise it was a good summary and additional information on Marx and Smith.
ReplyDelete