How Do the Writings of Marx Differ from Those of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill?

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Essay topic: How do the writings of Marx differ from those of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill? Karl Marx, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill all share a commonality of being thinkers in the subject of political economy. Smith is often cited as the ‘father of modern economics’ because of his well-known work on The Wealth of Nations in 1776 which marked the beginnings of classical economics. Later Ricardo and Mill, influenced by Smith, developed their own theories in their writings: On the Principles of Political Economics and taxation published in 1817 and Principles of Political Economy with some of their Applications to social Philosophy in 1849 respectively. It was Marx who coined this term ‘classical economics’ to refer to the economics of Smith, Ricardo and Mill. These three classical economists argued that free markets regulate themselves confining their labour theory of value. On the contrary, Marx considered capitalism to be a historically specific mode of production that would eventually be replaced by communism. In his writing on the communist Manifesto, Marx criticises capitalism and believes that labour exploitation will be the driving force behind a revolution for a socialist economic system. Adam Smith’s writing is structured around his economic metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ which perceives the marketplace to be self-regulated. He dismisses the mercantile system that existed at the time of his writing and contends that self-interested individuals will benefit society, even if unintentionally, because they have the motive to produce better products and at lower costs. Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations in 1776, conveying the inextricable link between the ‘invisible’ force of the market competition which feeds individual greed and the promotion of the national interests in improving society. He gives the example of the
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