What economic system is best and why? Karl Marx or Adam Smith?

Question

What economic system is best and why? Karl Marx or Adam Smith?

Answer 1

Karl Marx is brilliant based on what I've read about him which isn't really that much. I plan to read more. He said that we would be gravitating to a system that was like communism. He is not the problem. His ideas are not the problem.

Adam Smith believes in the free market system but there are real problems with that. It's painful.

Answer 2

History has proven that neither of those work!  Marx gives no motivation to individuals to excel, and Smith doesn't maximize opportunity for the lower class--the rich keep all the money and there is nothing a poor man can do to get rich.  Look at soviet communism and the great depression to see how these ideas have failed in the past.

What we need is a practical balance between these isms.  You need to ensure competition.  Smith's capitalism fails in this regard because someone can become rich and powerful enough to eliminate the competition, and when this happens in a widespread way, you end up with distinct classes of rich and poor, without much of a middle class or opportunity to change your lot in life.  Marx's communism fails because if (actually, when) everyone doesn't buy into the idea of working as hard as you can to make your country a better place (I'll work hard so that everyone gets richer) because they see someone else loafing and getting the same benefit, there is no motivation to excel.  

Look at the US and Europe from the end of WWII to the present.  You'll see a variety of mixes between capitalism and socialism, but all of the most successful ones encourage a middle class, social mobility, and individual excellence.