The classical political economists shared, to a large extent, a vision of an emerging social system. Smith referred to this as the “society of perfect liberty” while Marx called it the “capitalist mode of production.” What were the central characteristics of this system and how did it differ from what existed previously? What are the major differences between Smith’s and Marx’s conceptions of this system? How did some of the other political economists we have studied such as Ricardo, Mill, or Owen expect the system to evolve? Compare their expectations with Marx’s.