There were no individual that invented capitalism. However, the closest individual that likely is the perpetrator to modern stage capitalism is a scottish philosopher Adam Smith.
So, I would say him.
I’d also include Henry Ford, who pushed for the idea of 40 hour work weeks and 5 days a week.
Adam Smith was a political economist examining capitalism (and made several errors along the way that Marx corrected, such as utterly confusing fixed vs. circulating capital). Ford also only “pushed” for 40 hour, 5 day work weeks because worker organizing was fighting for it.
The creation of capitalism wasn’t from an idea about a new system, but from the rise of inventions like the steam engine and industrial production leading to commodity production becoming the basis of production and distribution, as compared to more agrarian production and small manufacturers.
There were no individual that invented capitalism. However, the closest individual that likely is the perpetrator to modern stage capitalism is a scottish philosopher Adam Smith.
So, I would say him.
I’d also include Henry Ford, who pushed for the idea of 40 hour work weeks and 5 days a week.
Adam Smith was a political economist examining capitalism (and made several errors along the way that Marx corrected, such as utterly confusing fixed vs. circulating capital). Ford also only “pushed” for 40 hour, 5 day work weeks because worker organizing was fighting for it.
The creation of capitalism wasn’t from an idea about a new system, but from the rise of inventions like the steam engine and industrial production leading to commodity production becoming the basis of production and distribution, as compared to more agrarian production and small manufacturers.