It is fascinating to see the differences in philosophy and understanding of economics between Adam Smith, who in 1776 was looking at a pre-industrial economy of

It is fascinating to see the differences in philosophy and understanding of economics between Adam Smith, who in 1776 was looking at a pre-industrial economy of taking raw material inputs and doing very little to them before sale, versus Karl Marx who in 1848 was looking at the effects of industrialization and an economy very focused on value-add activities. Different economic structures, different social consequences, and different philosophies that emerged out of that. I highly recommend David Harvey's guide to Marx's Kapital especially for anyone who has been soaked in anti-communist propaganda (read: grew up in North America) but who has never actually read it. Harvey's guide to it is quite readable and uses modern examples and translates some of the old fashioned language. It's fascinating. After all, Peter Thiel said that he became a better capitalist after reading Marx...