Agency, Passivity, Labor, Profit

The underlying Psychological premise of Smith's system is Profit-Seeking, though the relation of that to the Survival instinct is unclear. Likewise, Spinoza's concept of Conatus does not distinguish increase in strength from mere maintenance of it. However, a decisive contrast in his model is between Agency and Passivity, which, when applied to Increase, is expressed as the sharp distinction of Creativity from mere Acquisition. So, insofar as Labor can be analyzed as a creative process, the cardinality of it in Marxism, in contrast with that of mere profiting in Capitalism, reflects an appreciation of Agency that is lacking in the latter.