World History - Economic Systems (Chapter 21)

Wealth of Nations

A 1776 book written by Smith that described his theory on free trade, otherwise known as laissez-faire economics.

Robert Owen

A British cotton manufacturer believed that humans would reveal their true natural goodness if they lived in a cooperative environment.

entrepreneur

A person who organizes, manages, and takes on the risks of a business.

laissez-faire

A policy that government should interfere as little as possible in the nation's economy.

socialism

A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community or government as a whole.

social democracy

A political ideology in which there is a gradual transition from capitalism to socialism instead of a sudden violent overthrow of the system.

Thomas Mathus

A scientist and economist proposed a theory that resources such as food, water, and shelter were natural limits to population growth.

Communist Manifesto

A socialist manifesto written by Marx and Engels (1848) describing the history of the working-class movement according to their views.

Friedrich Engels

A socialist who wrote the Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx in 1848.

communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the government. It is seen as a higher state of socialism.

capitalism

An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Karl Marx

He is often recognized as the father of communism. An analysis of history led to his belief that communism would replace capitalism as it replaced feudalism. He believed in a classless society.

Das Kapital

Karl Marx's book that said all social classes should end and everyone should be equal with equal ownership of businesses.

Adam Smith

Smith was the author of The Wealth of Nations; a proponent of the free-market system and laissez-faire economics.

standard of living

The degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community.