Marx and Classical Political Economy Analytical Essay by Rochey

This paper attempts to show how the way in which Karl Marx broke from the analysis of the classical political economists is shown through the basic assumptions that he challenged. It identifies three key ways that form central points of departure from classical political economy. First, it examines how Marx's "historical materialist" approach departed from the classical economists, in the way that the mode of production was identified as the driving force behind social and historical change. It then looks at how Marx broke away from the classical conception of the market mechanism and then shows Marx broke away from the individualist assumptions of the classical political economists. It also explores how the premise that an understanding of economic life can be derived from conceptualizing the individual as a fundamental unit of analysis was a central assumption of the classical school and how Marx asserted that economic life can only be understood through the analysis of social relations and in particular the relations between classes.