Marxian and Liberal Reception
- When
- date unknown
- Where
- later history of economic thought
Marx called the book the true Bible of eighteenth-century classical political economy, while Marxian economics critiqued the tradition it founded.
Karl Marx wrote that the Wealth of Nations is the true Bible of the classical political economy of the 18th century. The treatise is widely regarded as a foundational work of economic liberalism, with virtually all liberal economic schools embracing, reinterpreting, or synthesizing Smith's concepts. Marxian economics developed as a critique of the classical tradition the book established, while adapting many of Smith's analytical concepts, including the division of labour, economic classes, the labour theory of value, and capital accumulation.
Sources
- The Wealth of Nations Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21
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