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date: 23 January 2021

Abstract and Keywords

This chapter outlines Marx’s general attitude towards Smith. It argues that Marx was a close reader of and that he generally admired Smith’s work. The chapter outlines how Marx criticizes various aspects of Smith’s thought and then develops them as a part of his own theory. Topics covered include value theory and the development of money and capital. The chapter then moves on to discuss their views of the development of character and argues that their positions on both the state and historical change are also surprisingly similar. Their main difference is that Smith largely looks backward, sees that things are better than they were, and offers various reforms to improve society. Marx looks largely to the future, thinks that the future could be so much better than the present, and argues for a communist revolution.

Keywords: Adam Smith, Marx, history, capitalism, markets

Spencer Pack

Spencer J. Pack is Professor of Economics at Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, USA. He is the author of Reconstructing Marxian Economics: Marx Based Upon a Sraffian Commodity Theory of Value (Praeger 1985); Capitalism as a Moral System: Adam Smith's Critique of the Free Market Economy (Elgar 1991); Aristotle, Adam Smith and Karl Marx: On Some Fundamental Issues in 21st Century Political Economy (Elgar 2010); and various articles in the History of Economic Thought.

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