Reconciliation

I am reading Hume's An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts.

I have always liked Hume and Marx. Hume died in 1776 at the dawn of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. Marx lived through many of the worst excesses of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. It would seem impossible to reconcile Hume, who helped found liberal democratic ideals, with Marx. My admiration of both philosophers forces me to try.

Hume understands justice to be that which is useful to society. That might be a key to a partial reconciliation. I don't know.

What if Hume had the same empirical evidence as Marx about the consequences of unfettered capitalism?