Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Abstract
In 1848 the well- known philosopher of Classical School, John Stuart Mill published his Principles of Political Economy, in which he raised a question about the Ricardian model and its natural laws of distribution. In the same year, there appeared a much different, most outspoken pamphlet which mounted a major attack the capitalistic system. The pamphlet was the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles. In this pamphlet, they both called for socialist revolution- for the industrial workers to unite and to violently overthrow the governments in Europe, and take over the factories from the capitalists.
Marx and Engels examined the conditions of the capitalistic countries in Europe in the mid- 1800s. At that time, these countries were suffering from poverty and deprivation, hunger and unemployment and so many
other problems and their economic and social conditions were not pleasant at all.
At that sensitive time in history, Marxian socialist revolution against the governments of several European countries seemed very likely. But it did not occur and somehow things held together and, with the introduction of new production techniques which made production increase considerably, ultimately began getting better for most people in these countries, especially England. Meanwhile, in this period economic science followed its path of development.
Marx and Engels as the main critics of capitalism and also French dissenters and others such as Henry George and Thorstein Veblen, by developing new ideas, established new schools of thought in economics. On the other hand, many great economic thinkers, including Leon Walras and Alfred Marshall, the two outstanding Neo- Classical scholars revived economic knowledge again and in this way economic science continued its path of development.
)