Cheers Daniel. I suppose we could argue this point. But... my reading of Smith is that he is describing the world as it is at his time. A lot of mid-sized agricultural enterprises, in a world transitioning from feudal privilege to private ownership. A smaller (but very interesting) industry, also transitioning from the guild system to a more modern system.
Here's a semi-random example from a chapter on wager labour:
"When an independent workman, such as a weaver or shoemaker, has got more stock than what is sufficient to purchase the materials of his own work, and to maintain himself till he can dispose of it, he naturally employs one or more journeymen with the surplus, in order to make a profit by their work. Increase this surplus, and he will naturally increase the number of his journeymen."
or the famous one:
“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities, but of their advantages”
It seems to me that he is talking about a world that is not really capitalist, in a marxian sense.
Smith does spend a lot of time on wager labour, he does talk about freedom (nonexistent under feudalism) to pursue their own interests and the market forces which create opportunities. But... the economy he is describing is of small scale industry, landlord-tenant dynamics... I don't think Marx would have called this capitalism.
Also, what he regards as "monopoly" (bad) is a much lower bar than we use today. Where he describes larger scale structures like corporations (I think he means guilds and regulators), joint-stock companies (rare then), and such it is usually in a negative light, associated with monopoly or what we'd call "regulatory capture" today.
All of this is arguable. Smith was a long time ago, the world was different, and we can't really know if he'd consider modern capitalism good. But, I do think that what marx was describing and SMith was advocating are two completely different things. We happen to call both capitalism (depending on whether we're for or against it). I think they're tangental or even somewhat contradictory.
I agree with your more important point. Read Smith. It's a great opportunity to read accessible and interesting texts that are important to modern thought, and still easily relevant. Don't try read Marx, only heartbreak will follow. Read Darwin too, for the same reason.