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Adam Smith Father Of Modern Economics Summary

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Over the centuries, as the world was slowly changing so was economics. As natural disasters, wars, and diseases occurred in Europe during and after the Middle Ages, people were forced to interact with different peoples and populations were greatly affected. This caused the economy to evolve and develop from a mainly agricultural one into the complex economy we know it as today. The concept of economics however was never really explained till economists such as Adam Smith, Richard Cantillon, and Karl Marx began to shed more light and depth on its idea, developing and pioneering theories on economics. Economics at the beginning of the Middle Ages revolved around the feudal system, a system that depended on the hierarchy of society to work effectively. …show more content…

Smith disagreed and after nine years of work and research, challenged this idea in his book, The Wealth of Nations. Here, Smith proposed that economics should be measured by a country’s overall production and commerce, an idea that is known today as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Smith also discussed the concept of division of labor, explaining how productive the economy would become if people became specialized and focused on working in one area such as in an assembly …show more content…

Not only is Adam Smith’s work considered a foundation of classic economics, it is also one of the most prominent books ever written. Today, as an honor, Adam Smith’s picture is on the £20 note. “Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!” –Karl Marx (BrainyQuote) Karl Marx (1818-1883) was known for his radical thinking, even being expelled from France Germany, and Belgium for some of his controversial writing. While in London, his interest and focus on capitalism and economic theory increased, leading him to write and release Das Kapital (Capital) in 1867. Contrary to Smith’s beliefs, Marx completely disagreed with capitalism. In his book, he described capitalism as a bomb waiting to go off. To him, capitalism possessed qualities that would eventually lead to its own self-destruction. Marx then predicted that after the destruction of capitalism, socialism would take its

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