Since the beginning of time, humanity has always used a system of trade with each other, in order to acquire materials, services or goods. Today there are many trade systems, which go from the historical barter system, in which goods and/or services are exchanged directly with other goods and/or services, to the more recent fiat monetary system, in which the currency is the median of the exchange of goods. and/or services. Economics, or the “science of choice,” was a field of interest to only a select few until about the 18th century. An Englishman would forever advance the world to a higher level of economic thinking with the emergence of the very first economic book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, or The Wealth of Nations – Adam Smith. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Since Smith's publication in 1776, many people around the world began to study this natural phenomenon of economics and the theories of the free market and the powerful "invisible hand." The year 1936 also marked another turning point in economic thinking with another Englishman named John Maynard Keynes. In his publication The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Keynes argued that the free market and the “invisible hand” were not the solutions to economic dilemmas, but rather the problems. Keynes instead advocated government intervention in the economy to help growing and declining nations. Since Keynes' publication, many economists have adopted Keynesian theory and use it to form and shape modern macroeconomics. Despite the rise in popularity of the idea of ​​government-regulated markets among economists, Adam Smith's ideals have not faded, but rather branched out. in what is known as the Austrian School of Economics. Friedrich August von Hayek was the leading proponent of this new economic philosophy in the early 1940s and gained popularity in the early 1970s. Using Smith's classical and neoclassical economic theories, Hayek modernized Smith's ideas to demonstrate that markets and nations function best when government intervention is limited. Since then, people from all sides of the economic and political spectrum have argued with each other about how much government intervention in an economy can help or break a nation. Many economists who have read and analyzed Smith's The Wealth of Nations believe that the Austrian School of Economics approaches economic theory in two different styles: a classical message and a neoclassical message. Classical economics is the approach in which the value, distribution and growth of goods are the main concerns of economic policy. Neoclassical economics focuses on patterns of supply and demand to best represent the most effective determination of prices, production, and distribution of income among citizens. Smith addresses the classical approach from the beginning of The Wealth of Nations. Smith explains to the audience that the “wealth of nations” can be built in two ways. First, by strengthening markets to intensify the distribution of labor, a nation's workforce will become more productive; and second, a nation needs to produce more goods and services through its workforce, instead of being unproductive (Smith 1-19). Smith's neoclassical approach is the “invisible hand” theory of the market. This theory implies that the market itself has a self-regulating nature and should be “left alone”. From this implication, economists are presented with the economic philosophy of “laissez-faire,” which is derived from the meaningFrench for “leave alone”. The laissez-faire economic philosophy states that if the market system is full of government intervention, then the market and the “wealth of that nation” will suffer dearly (Smith 400). To continue Smith's ideas, Hayek expresses concern in his publication The Road to Serfdom (1943) at the “danger of tyranny which inevitably arises from government control of economic decision-making through central planning” (“Friedrich A. Hayek: A Centenary Appreciation” ). While maintaining the foundations of the classical approach to economics, Hayek continues to express the neoclassical approach from a limited governmental perspective. Hayek viewed central planning as inherently undemocratic because it required the will of a small minority to be imposed on the mass majority of a nation (Hayek 77). Hayek thought that this elite decision-making machine would ultimately destroy the rule of law and individual freedoms (Hayek 80-96). Instead of being a centralized decision maker, Hayek argued that the government's role should be to regulate only unfair market operators, to prevent fraud in the markets and also to create a safety net in the event of a total economic meltdown (Hayek 43 -45). Hayek consequently concludes, “in any system that can be rationally defended the state would simply do nothing” (Hayek 45). Many economists argue that the Austrian School of Economics is not actually a practical theory of constantly changing economies. Those economists who disagree with “limited government” economic methods will side with Keynesian theory. Keynes presented to the world, when markets were failing and the threat of a Second World War was gaining momentum, a new approach to economics: Keynesianism. Keynesianism establishes three economic pillars that a nation must possess to progress: the federal government must move away from the laissez-faire economic philosophy, the federal government must play an active role in managing the national economy, and the federal government must act to stimulate demand and maintain a high employment rate. The way the federal government was supposed to accomplish these three points, suggested by Keynes, was by manipulating interest rates to manage money, raise or reduce taxes, and engage in federal spending (Keynes 19, 305). Through his “general theory,” Keynes believed that government should be the one to help a failing economy, rather than waiting for markets to fix themselves. Keynesianism seeks to help and regenerate the short run of an economy, rather than the Austrian School of Economics approach to help and stabilize the long run. Given the time context of the introduction of Keynesianism, this new economic thinking skyrocketed to lift nations out of national “depressions.” Since the end of the Great Depression, Keynesianism still remains for many economists the main foundation of modern macroeconomics. In current times, many people still debate how much government intervention should be allowed in a nation's economy. Corresponding to the American political spectrum, most people who argue that government intervention serves an essential part of maintaining American democratic standards and helps regulate the powers a given individual may possess would reside on the left side. On the right-wing side, most individuals would argue that the government should only protect citizens by ensuring and protecting individual rights, enabling a competitive capitalist free market system, and providing a strong national defense. Both sides clash repeatedly because.