Paper Summary:

The paper examines Heilbroner's treatment, in "The Worldly Philosophers", of two diametrically opposing views on economics; those of the capitalist, Adam Smith and those of the father of socialism, Karl Marx. The paper notes the differences between the two theories and highlights the weaknesses of Marx's theory. The paper relates that so far Smith has been right, but Smith never envisioned the techno-age nor global economy. The paper emphasizes how Marxism involves, in actual practice, a personality cult and a praetorian guard to stay in power, with China, the world's greatest socialist state, as an ironic example of the inequality of wealth among society.

From the Paper:

"Heilbroner says that The Wealth of Nations is by no means a textbook; Smith is writing to his age and not to his students (53). It is not a particularly original work. The ideas espoused had been around for a long time, with Smith exploring the thoughts of men such as Locke, Turgot, Hume and others, but is still a product of genius.
"So what was this grand new creation? How did it reconcile catch 22? If man only works for his own advantage how does a society remain viable? As Heilbroner asks, what keeps it from flying apart by centrifugal force? How does society get all of the necessary tasks accomplished which it needs to survive? Basically men will gravitate to the work needed to be done for the availability is its own incentive."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Heilbroner, R. The Worldly Philosophers New York: Simon & Schuster 1953-1986

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