Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Adam Smith Problem: The Adam Smith Problem refers to an alleged inconsistency between Smith’s two major works The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), which emphasizes human sympathy and moral behavior, and The Wealth of Nations (1776), which focuses on self-interest and market behavior. Critics argue these views contradict, but many scholars believe Smith saw both moral sentiments and self-interest as compatible in supporting social order and economic prosperity. See also Adam Smith, Markets, Egoism._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Economic Theories on Adam Smith Problem - Dictionary of Arguments
Otteson I 24 Adam Smith Problem/economic theories/Otteson: [There is a] historical and scholarly issue known as the “Adam Smith Problem,” which alleges a rift between the account of morality Smith gives in TMS(1), on the one hand, and the seemingly different account of political economy Smith gives in his Wealth of Nations(2), on the other. Can the two accounts be reconciled? Otteson: (….) both accounts could be reconciled by a proper understanding of Smith’s “political economy” project. >Political economy/Smith, >Morality/Adam Smith, >Stages of Development/Adam Smith, >Justice/Adam Smith. Spontaneous order: The explanation Smith offers for the development of moral standards holds the process to create what we today might call "spontaneous order." A spontaneous order is a system that arises, as Smith's contemporary Adam Ferguson put it, as "the result ofhuman action, but not the execution of any human design" (Ferguson, 1996(3) [1767]: 119). As this theory was developed by twentieth-century thinkers like Michael Polanyi and Friedrich Hayek, it referred to the development of an orderly system that arose from the decentralized actions of individuals but without their intending to design any overall system. Language is a good example. The English language is a relatively orderly system: it contains rules of grammar, definitions of words, and accepted or acceptable pronunciations, but there was no single person or group of persons who invented or designed it. It lives and changes according to the purposes and desires of the users of the language, and its rules are generated and enforced by the users themselves. Another prime example of spontaneous order is ecosystems. Otteson I 25 One more example of spontaneous order: an economic market. As Smith would go on to describe in his Wealth of Nations(2), the individual actors in economic markets certainly have intentions - they all want, in his words, to "better their own condition" (WN(1) 345) - but they nevertheless typically do not have any larger intentions in mind regarding an overall system of market order. They just want to achieve their localized purposes in cooperation with other willing individuals. Yet individuals' decentralized attempts to achieve their purposes lead to the development of patterns and even principles of behavior that can look as if some wise person designed it all. Adam Smith Problem/Solution/Spontaneous order/Smith:. Smith's argument is that human morality is a social system that arises – (…) like markets - on the basis of countless individual decisions, actions, and interactions but without any overall plan and with no overall designer. >Rules/Adam Smith. 1. Smith, Adam (1982) [1759]. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. D. D. Raphael and A. L. Macfie, eds. Liberty Fund. 2. Smith, Adam. (1776) The Wealth of Nations. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell. 3 Ferguson, Adam (1996) [1767]. An Essay on the History of Civil Society. Edited by Fania Oz-Salzberger. Cambridge University Press._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Economic Theories Otteson I James R. Otteson The Essential Adam Smith Vancouver: Fraser Institute. 2018 |
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