What Is The Difference Between Socialism And Communism
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luctuate depending on the desire of the consumer and the availability of the goods. It is believed that capitalism has its origins in Europe during the 13th century toward the close of he Feudal era. The expeditions of discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries emerged an economic order that was essentially commercial. Capitalist wealth seemed to have no natural limits. Capitalism not only took on an industrial essence, but also developed into mercantilism. The mercantilist system rested on private property and the use of markets for the basic organization of economic activity. Marx saw capitalism as a step in the process of centralization of society, the economy, and the state.
The Physioctrats and the Doctrine of Adam Smith were two economic developments that help pave the way to modern capitalism. Physiocracy implied that the existence of a natural order in economics made it possible for people to be prosperous without interference from the state. Francois Quesnay, a French economist leader of the physiocrats, believed that only the agricultural classes are capable of producing surplus out of which the state could find the capital to support an expansion of the flow of money or could levy taxes to meet its needs. They were capable of producing new wealth.
The ideas of Adam Smith were an attack on the doctrines of mercantilism. Smith saw the division of labour and the addition of markets almost limitless, possibilities for society to expand its wealth through manufacture and trade. The Scottish university professor, believed that a country’s wealth depended on all people pursing their own interests, which will by coincidence promote their country’s interests. Governments should promote free trade and not interfere by protecting certain industries from competition. Smith says the governments only duty was to provide services such as the building of roads and schools that could not be lucrative. Although Smith spoke of the p...