Few people have been so important for our understanding of capitalism as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Basically, all that students learn at business schools can be derived from them in one way or another. To go past them every time I enter the Stockholm School of Economics gives me almost holy feel. Like you pay homage to the prophets, pioneers, and priests of capitalism. Which is not far-fetched. Economics and religion have historically been very intertwined. And they are both based on beliefs and morality and the will to find something better (on earth or in heaven). Although Marx wanted to replace capitalism because of its morality he nevertheless acknowledges it as the greatest wealth increasing system ever created. And although Smith is seen as the proponent of free markets he understood and criticized its flaws. Unlike some religious prophets neither Smith nor Marx where dogmatist – although their followers and foes sometimes make it look as if they were. They were – like all great thinkers – able to see the world from many angles. To see these beautiful and enchanting urns every time we walk into this church of knowledge is a great reminder of what our richness – material and intellectual – comes from. 

By Klas A. M. Eriksson, Doctor of Philosophy in Economic History, and researcher at Stockholm School of Economics.