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2 - The Moral Economist

Adam Smith

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

Douglas E. Stevens
Affiliation:
Georgia State University
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Summary

In Chapter 2, I discuss the moral foundation for capitalism provided by Adam Smith. The great philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment is frequently invoked by economists as the father of their discipline, yet Smith’s life and writings have been widely distorted. In contrast to his popular caricature today, Smith was a moral philosopher of the highest caliber who incorporated important moral perspectives throughout his writings. Smith presented his moral theory based on social norms and culture in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and maintained it as the moral foundation for his economic theory in The Wealth of Nations. Smith’s moral theory is based on the principle of sympathy and the behavioral norms that arise due to past social experiences that reveal standards of right and wrong behavior. Similar to the other philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment, he attributes moral judgment and the moral conscience to the impartial spectator, but he also reserves important roles for religion and moral codes such as the Stoic virtues. When nineteenth-century classical economists adopted narrow self-interest as the first principle of their discipline, therefore, they adopted a principle that Smith and the other Scottish Enlightenment philosophers had adamantly rejected.

Type
Chapter
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In Search of a Moral Foundation for Capitalism
From Adam Smith to Amartya Sen
, pp. 21 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Moral Economist
  • Douglas E. Stevens, Georgia State University
  • Book: In Search of a Moral Foundation for Capitalism
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009434423.003
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  • The Moral Economist
  • Douglas E. Stevens, Georgia State University
  • Book: In Search of a Moral Foundation for Capitalism
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009434423.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Moral Economist
  • Douglas E. Stevens, Georgia State University
  • Book: In Search of a Moral Foundation for Capitalism
  • Online publication: 23 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009434423.003
Available formats
×