Marx vs. Smith

Key to Marxism is the argument that the laborer has always been forced to work for the bourgeoisie. Although true in the days of slavery and serfdom, when those in power used violence to extract labor, it is a stretch to believe this is true today. The “force” supposedly compelling today’s laborer is the threat of unemployment. However, as Adam Smith points out in Wealth of Nations, man in his natural state works only for himself. Therefore, the alternative to employment is not death by starvation as the Marxists claim, but rather that which man naturally possesses: self-employment. Ironically, those in power are willing to raise taxes on the self-employed Americans that make up 70% of the “businesses” in the United States. At least they have generously offered to return some of those tax dollars, for a small fee; in the form of small business loans.