ABSTRACT
There are a number of different ways to gain entry into the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This chapter describes their view of human nature—the question of what differentiates human beings from animals. In the eighteenth century, in the writings of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine, the appeal to human nature, with its innate rights, provided an argument for more democratic institutions and for freeing commerce from government supervision. Capitalism is often defended as being particularly well suited to human nature. It is thought to be the preferred economic system because human beings are acquisitive; they always want more; they are "greedy". Adam Smith asserts that free-market institutions are an essential aspect of all human societies because they result from universal human traits. Human beings are species beings because they are able to change themselves—for instance, by creating new needs.
