I freely admit I know little of Marx's work other than what other say, I will have to read it at some point.
I used to be the same way about Smith until I read Wealth of Nations Volume 1-3. Overall I found Smith's writing to not reflect the modern day free marketer's mantra as much as though.
Here's an interesting Smith quote P. 358 in my edition:
"The interest of the dealers however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public."
I don't think Smith thought Capitalism resulted in Utopia at all, as I said, he believed that once late-stage Capitalism arrived, it would self-destruct. Early Capitalism involves craftsman and merchants, so everyone is fairly productive, the craftsman creates, the merchant gives the craftsman money or credit so the craftsman can continue to craft. Then the financiers arrive, and at first it's very helpful, the merchant has more credit, the craftsman always has a buyer for the craft, the financiers are like oil for the gears. Unfortunately, the profits at the financing part are disproportionate to the profits from crafts and merchants, so eventually Smith assumed the greatest part of profits would all one day be tied up with the financiers, but since all profits have to start with crafts and merchants, this is unsustainable for the long term. In Smith's view financiers don't actually add to the "capital" of a country, interestingly enough.
So, when I say I have a new found appreciation of Capitalism, I'm really referring to the early stages of Capitalism, specifically how Smith explains it in 1776, and not how it portrays in say Stone's Wall Street.
I used to be the same way about Smith until I read Wealth of Nations Volume 1-3. Overall I found Smith's writing to not reflect the modern day free marketer's mantra as much as though.
Here's an interesting Smith quote P. 358 in my edition: "The interest of the dealers however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public."
I don't think Smith thought Capitalism resulted in Utopia at all, as I said, he believed that once late-stage Capitalism arrived, it would self-destruct. Early Capitalism involves craftsman and merchants, so everyone is fairly productive, the craftsman creates, the merchant gives the craftsman money or credit so the craftsman can continue to craft. Then the financiers arrive, and at first it's very helpful, the merchant has more credit, the craftsman always has a buyer for the craft, the financiers are like oil for the gears. Unfortunately, the profits at the financing part are disproportionate to the profits from crafts and merchants, so eventually Smith assumed the greatest part of profits would all one day be tied up with the financiers, but since all profits have to start with crafts and merchants, this is unsustainable for the long term. In Smith's view financiers don't actually add to the "capital" of a country, interestingly enough.
So, when I say I have a new found appreciation of Capitalism, I'm really referring to the early stages of Capitalism, specifically how Smith explains it in 1776, and not how it portrays in say Stone's Wall Street.