Smith College

trade. The Four Stage Model of Economic Development According to Hunt (2002), Smith hypothesized that there were at least four stages of economic development: hunting, pasturage, agriculture, and commerce. i. The Hunting Stage According to…

Adam Smith states that, “No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.” Smith is meaning that not every society is fair; there will be people who are “flourishing and happy” and some of the people will be “poor and miserable.” It is very difficult to have a society in which every person is happy. There is a large gap between the rich and the poor in America. The rich makes up one percent of America’s population. That one…

Beginning with Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, bourgeois political economists have theorized that the value is a function of a worker’s labor. In Capital Volume One, Karl Marx illuminates this idea and adds nuances to it, explaining underlying relationships between labor and value. Namely, Marx introduces the concept of socially necessary labor-time and uses it as a point of departure for considering the links between labor, value, and material wealth. In Capital, Marx elucidates the…

characters (Burdon). Capote uses informed opinions and vivid descriptions to debate the good within evil, and how Perry and Dick relate to this. By the use of these rhetorical strategies, Burro’s quote is proved valid through Capote’s text. Perry Smith could be the most highly debated character character, because he was not truly evil. Perry uses his own opinions to justify and explain his crime. Perry explains,…

Bill Gates is the founder and creator of Microsoft, a computer company that creates and sells computer software and has revolutionized the computer industry over the last few decades. Because of the freedoms provided by the free enterprise system, Bill Gates was able to create one of the most successful and influential companies in the world. Three characteristics of free enterprise summarize its importance to the economy and its ability to allow businesses to become successful. In a free…

idea that the modern world of civil society is created through selfish ends and a system of complete interdependence is an idea that is shared with many other writers. Specifically, the 18th century writers of Steuart and Smith share Hagel’s point of view. Both Steuart and Smith believe self-interest is essential in explaining the creation of the modern world. They agree that when individuals peruse their selfish interests and in turn, become dependent in one another, and consequently create…

Although Adam Smith and Karl Marx have radically different economic theories, both their ideologies have the same goal in mind: greater freedom. Their divergent views therefore arise from their different ideas of what freedom is. Smith ties freedom to financial gain whereas Marx ties freedom to financial ownership. These differing views on freedom can be seen in their different attitudes towards machinery. While Smith sees machinery as furthering the efficiency of society which he connects to…

Folsom packs examples from all six chapters into this last seventh chapter to unravel the inaccuracies in these textbooks. Folsom explains that the top three best-selling college textbooks in American history wrongfully portrayed Rockefeller’s success with the oil industry as fraudulent. The importance of depicting this time in history correctly is necessary as America could have deeply plummeted had it not been for Rockefeller’s…

Transformation has remained an influential text especially in the fields of sociology, history and anthropology (Block 275). Polanyi believed that there was a series of myths surrounding the origins and workings of capitalism that began with Adam Smith and his book Wealth of Nations. The Great Transformation looks to counter some of those myths by adding an anthropological and historical analysis. Polanyi claims that our market driven society is a historical novelty (Watson) and that for the…

demonstrating that all matters as natural; therefore, it is nature itself that pushes a society to become commercialized. Smith introduces the division of labor as a product of self-interest because it is in human nature for one to seek to produce more goods. Division of labor is seen as “the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labour” (Smith 3). Through the pin factory example, Smith demonstrates how the division of labour operates through specialization. By having individuals…