18 research outputs found
Seduced by System: Edmund Burke's Aesthetic Embrace of Adam Smith's Philosophy
No abstract available
Assumption without representation: the unacknowledged abstraction from communities and social goods
We have not clearly acknowledged the abstraction from unpriceable âsocial goodsâ (derived from
communities) which, different from private and public goods, simply disappear if it is attempted to
market them. Separability from markets and economics has not been argued, much less established.
Acknowledging communities would reinforce rather than undermine them, and thus facilitate
the production of social goods. But it would also help economics by facilitating our understanding
of â and response to â financial crises as well as environmental destruction and many social problems,
and by reducing the alienation from economics often felt by students and the public
Adam Smith's Invisible Hands
William Gramppâs JPE article on Adam Smith is creative and provocative. It errs, however, by disparaging the invisible handâs importance as a symbol of various economic processes that help societies prosper in ways that individuals neither intend nor comprehend. Four specific problems stand out. First, Grampp unsoundly tries to limit the relevance of the invisible hand within the Wealth of Nations to situations in which a merchant increases domestic capital and strengthens national defense. Second, Grampp presents an oversimplified account of WNâs treatment of international relations. Third he conspicuously misinterprets the trickle-down process of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, where Smith argues that an invisible hand promotes the welfare of the poor despite the greed of the rich. Fourth, by failing to plumb the connection between these two invisible handsââŹâand by dismissing the relevance of a third invisible hand, which Smith elsewhere invokes to illustrate the superstitious outlook that pervades ââŹĹprimitiveâ⏠societiesââŹâGrampp overlooks the complex interrelationships between Smithâs two books. Whereas WN presents the invisible hand in an atheistic context, the TMS version seems to be the hand of God; this religious contrast mirrors TMSâs more optimistic perspective on the poor and its more ambivalent evaluation of ââŹĹriches and power.ââŹ
Grampp is wise to stress the inconsistencies, puzzles, and exaggerations that Smith bequeathed to his readers. But some of Gramppâs criticisms are glib, and he deserves blame for trivializing the invisible hand. The three invisible hands, I argue, not only illuminate the rhetorical strategies that helped Smith influence institutions and public policies; they also signal his commitment to promoting curiosity and inquiry.Adam Smith,invisible hand,Wealth of Nations,Theory of Moral Sentiments