Karl Marx and Milton Friedman: bedfellows in thought

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to offer a viewpoint that economic surplus is a notion shared by economists as diverse as Karl Marx and Milton Friedman.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is an interpretation and critique of the literature of the work by Marx and Friedman.

Findings

The paper finds the two men's respective writings bear out the commonality while recognizing that they drew radically different implications from their common perception. Elucidating the commonality is a worthwhile exercise even though the elucidation might not interest the broad range of economists.

Originality/value

The paper expresses a viewpoint that economic surplus is a notion shared by diverse economists.

Citation

Wellington, D.C. and Zandvakili, S. (2007), "Karl Marx and Milton Friedman: bedfellows in thought", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 34 No. 6, pp. 425-432. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290710751830