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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
The problem with Das Kapital or the Communist Manifesto is that the context within which they were written has shifted. So reading them as a way to influence your thoughts on contemporary economics would seem an odd exercise to me. It would be like reading Wealth of Nations with the hope that it would help you sort out the current state of the economy.
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I understand the problem with reading aged material and applying the contents in a modern context. But I disagree regarding "The Wealth of Nations", I think there are some core principles in the work that is very applicable to current issues and that the book could still be influential.
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Both Marx and Smith have no idea what's happened since the 20th century. Some of their ideas have been synthesized and implemented. Others have been discarded. Marx never really saw communism attempted on a large scale, and Smith was essentially a pre-capitalist.
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Smith spoke about meritocracy, and the driving force it is on people wanting to better themselves. I think the greatest drivers of the industrial revolution was meritocracy. I think the US greatly benefited from immigration based on people wanting to be rewarded for their efforts and they choose the US for that very reason. The US obtained some of the most motivated people on the planet and Smith's book predicted that.
Smith also talked about the "invisible hand", or the observation that people act in their own best interest. If one did a search of my posts you will find I use that line frequently with the addition of "perceive", where I say that people will do what they perceive to be in their best interest. What is perceived is not always what is real.
---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
That would be interesting. I haven't read that yet and would certainly do so with this as an incentive. (I have read the Manifesto.)
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I would participate. One of my problems when I read work from people with whom I disagree, is not being able to ask questions to see if I am really understanding what they are saying.