Human Competition According Adam Smith and Karl Marx
“Human competition” according to “Adam Smith” is brought about by “selfish interests”. “Adam Smith” made this extremely clear when he said that “the free decentralized action of economic agents in a system of competition and private property brings advantages for each of them…each one moved by his selfish interest”. Interestingly, this is an unconscious thought of an individual according to “Adam Smith”.
Causes of Human Competition According to Adam Smith
“Adam Smith,” said that competition was actually brought about by an individual’s pursuit of a better life. People constantly find ways to reach their objectives not only to satisfy their own selfish interests but to enhance one’s personal condition as well.
Consequences of Human Competition According to Adam Smith
What’s good about the unconscious desire of man to achieve self-interest is that, eventually, he or she will not only achieve a better life but that of others in the society as well.
Human Competition According to Karl Marx
“Human competition” according to “Karl Marx” is determined by his or her material conditions (Marx’s Theory of Human Nature: Alienation, n.d., n.p.). “Karl Marx” stated that “human competition” is highly related to the satisfaction of simple economic needs.
Causes of Human Competition According to Karl Marx
Meanwhile, the following are some of the causes of “human competition” according to “Karl Marx”: First of all, “human competition” according to “Karl Marx” sprouted from “man’s existence” (Marx’s Theory of Human Nature: Alienation, n.d., n.p.). It means that the existence of man requires satisfaction of human economic needs and so the aforementioned cause “human competition”. Furthermore, the historical act technically referred to as “the act of producing the means to satisfy human economic needs” also brought about “human competition”. Last but not least, survival is another cause of “human competition”. “Karl Marx” explained that since man “enters into conscious relation with nature for survival”, then he or she obliges himself or herself to “produce his or her means of subsistence” which eventually leads to human competition.
Consequences of Human Competition According to Karl Marx
The following are some of the consequences of “human competition”: First of all is that it leads to the “division of society into economic classes”.
For instance, in the “means of production”, “human competition” already exists because there are two types that exist, namely:
- owners or the capitalists;
- non-owners of the means of production or the workers.
These two types compete for ownership with regards to anything that may be utilized to “produce material needs and maintain existence”. In addition to that, since “human competition” is highly related to the “mode of production”, it has also led to the “determination of the totality of the social superstructure”. Simply put, “human competition” then also determines the composition of the State as well as political institutions.
