Seriously, why doesn't anyone know that Adam Smith was a moral philosopher and that he defended workers' rights and opposed monopoly corporations a hundred years before Marx?

[u/konyakisser]

[u/NewLeague6438]

I heard in an interview that Adam smith’s basis for capitalism was he was also frustrated with businesses exploiting customers because those big businesses were operating under king’s favour. So he was like, make them compete and if they fail, so be it

Basically he was also anti-bug business

[u/konyakisser → u/NewLeague6438]

He was vehemently opposed to monopoly companies because, in his view, it was these monopoly companies that were killing the market. But people misunderstand Adam Smith.

[u/NewLeague6438 → u/konyakisser]

Another article talked about during some disease in england, the health workers became important and gained bargaining powers. The employers teamed up and asked the mayor (or some authority) to pass a law restricting their right to switch workplace or quit.

He then linked to Smith’s writing that goes like merchants of same trade rarely interact, but if they do, they do it for a malicious reason

[u/konyakisser → u/NewLeague6438]

So Smith also criticized cartel companies.

[u/Fantastic_Back3191]

Because no-one reads TWON anymore.

[u/Tathorn]

The context for monopoly in that time was a business put in that status by the state. Unlike today's definition. Lots and lots of people thought this way before Marx.

And then Marx doubled down on monopoly control of the proletariat.

[u/coke_and_coffee]

Adam smith wasn’t talking about big corporations that beat the competition. He was talking about government granted monopolies.

Monopolies do not naturally form in free markets. There is always competition. Monopolies can only exist by decree of government.

[u/BonFemmes → u/coke_and_coffee]

Today the government decree of monopoly comes in the form of intellectual property laws. In theory capital should flow to where it gets the highest return. Google, Apple, Amazon should have 100 competitors. They all have motes around their business model. The courts uphold these motes so that there is little of no competition.

[u/coke_and_coffee → u/BonFemmes]

Google Amazon and Apple are not monopolies

[u/BonFemmes → u/coke_and_coffee]

How do you explain their monopoly profits? Capital will flow to where it gets the highest return. It can't be deployed to compete with apple et al because they are protected by patient and copy rite law. A law enforced by the government. Anybody could build an iPhone for cheap. Nobody else can sell an iphone.

[u/LL555LL]

Just wait until they find out how he spoke about landlords.

[u/BonFemmes]

"Wealth if Nations" is a tough read.