Marx and Smith

Learning Targets

• I can examine the political and economic ideas of Adam Smith and Karl Marx

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The Wealth of Nations

• Pre-industrialization

  • Merchantilism - regulated trade, gold and silver

• 1776 - Adam Smith

• Goods (tangible) and services (intangible)

• Interest - benefit

• Laissez-faire Capitalism

  • "Hands-off"

  • Free competition

  • little government intervention

    • invisible hand

  • Monopoly

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Other Key Words

• Consumer - buyer or user of goods and services

• Production - making physical products, or performing activities

• Profit - gain

• Demand - desire to buy

• Value - worth

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The Communist Manifesto

• Early 19th Century

  • Socialism - major means of production controlled by government

• 1848 - Karl Marx & Frederick Engels

• History is a struggle between classes

  • Romans, Feudalism

  • Proletariat (working class) and Bourgeois (middle class)

• Communism

  • "dictatorship of the proletariat"

  • all private property

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Other Key Words

• Opposition - disagreement

• Adversaries - opponents

• Class​ - social group

• Oppression - unfair control

• Antagonisms - conflicts

• Inflation - rising prices

• Depression - severe downturn