Publication: The argumentative structure of the Wealth of Nations
Loading...
Full text at PDC
Publication Date
2022
Authors
Advisors (or tutors)
Editors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Citations
Exportar
Abstract
The paper sheds fresh light on what Adam Smith was doing in writing the Wealth of Nations by looking at its place in his unaccomplished oeuvre. The Wealth of Nations is just a partial implementation of a part of his project: the history and theory of law and government. In this work, the ‘Socratic method” of persuasion and the “Newtonian method” of didactical discourse coexist with moral discourse. Such coexistence allows a smooth transition from (i) an argument aimed at persuading the public opinion of the advantage carried by non-aggressive commercial policies, high wages and provision of public goods by the public authority to (ii) a simplified reconstruction of economic mechanisms and tendencies through either conjectural history or ‘systems”, and (iii) an argument showing how all the oppressive inequality existent in modern societies is, besides deplorable on whatever moral standard, contrary to everybody’s interest.
Este artículo arroja una nueva luz sobre lo que Adam Smith estaba haciendo al escribir la Riqueza de las Naciones examinando el lugar que ocupa en su obra inconclusa, esto es, una realización parcial de una parte de su proyecto: la historia y la teoría del derecho y del gobierno. En la Riqueza de las Naciones, el “método socrático” de persuasión y el “método newtoniano” del discurso didáctico coexisten con el discurso moral. La coexistencia permite una transición desde (i) un argumento dirigido a persuadir a la opinión pública de la ventaja que conllevan unas políticas comerciales no agresivas, salarios elevados y alguna provisión de bienes públicos por parte de la autoridad pública; (ii) una reconstrucción simplificada de los mecanismos y tendencias económicas a través de la historia conjetural o de los “sistemas”, y (iii) un argumento que muestra cómo toda la desigualdad opresiva existente en las sociedades modernas es, además de deplorable, contraria al interés de todos.
O artigo lança uma nova luz sobre o que Adam Smith estava fazendo ao escrever a Riqueza das Nações observando seu lugar em sua obra inacabada. A Riqueza das Nações é apenas uma implementação parcial de uma parte de seu projeto: a história e a teoria do direito e do governo. Nesta obra, o “método socrático” de persuasão e o “método newtoniano” de discurso didático coexistem com o discurso moral. Tal coexistência permite uma transição suave de (i) um argumento destinado a persuadir a opinião pública da vantagem trazida por políticas comerciais não agressivas, altos salários e provisão de bens públicos pelo poder público para (ii) uma reconstrução simplificada dos mecanismos econômicos e tendências através da história conjectural ou ‘sistemas’, e (iii) um argumento mostrando como toda a desigualdade opressiva existente nas sociedades modernas é, além de deplorável sob qualquer padrão moral, contrária ao interesse de todos.
Este artículo arroja una nueva luz sobre lo que Adam Smith estaba haciendo al escribir la Riqueza de las Naciones examinando el lugar que ocupa en su obra inconclusa, esto es, una realización parcial de una parte de su proyecto: la historia y la teoría del derecho y del gobierno. En la Riqueza de las Naciones, el “método socrático” de persuasión y el “método newtoniano” del discurso didáctico coexisten con el discurso moral. La coexistencia permite una transición desde (i) un argumento dirigido a persuadir a la opinión pública de la ventaja que conllevan unas políticas comerciales no agresivas, salarios elevados y alguna provisión de bienes públicos por parte de la autoridad pública; (ii) una reconstrucción simplificada de los mecanismos y tendencias económicas a través de la historia conjetural o de los “sistemas”, y (iii) un argumento que muestra cómo toda la desigualdad opresiva existente en las sociedades modernas es, además de deplorable, contraria al interés de todos.
O artigo lança uma nova luz sobre o que Adam Smith estava fazendo ao escrever a Riqueza das Nações observando seu lugar em sua obra inacabada. A Riqueza das Nações é apenas uma implementação parcial de uma parte de seu projeto: a história e a teoria do direito e do governo. Nesta obra, o “método socrático” de persuasão e o “método newtoniano” de discurso didático coexistem com o discurso moral. Tal coexistência permite uma transição suave de (i) um argumento destinado a persuadir a opinião pública da vantagem trazida por políticas comerciais não agressivas, altos salários e provisão de bens públicos pelo poder público para (ii) uma reconstrução simplificada dos mecanismos econômicos e tendências através da história conjectural ou ‘sistemas’, e (iii) um argumento mostrando como toda a desigualdade opressiva existente nas sociedades modernas é, além de deplorável sob qualquer padrão moral, contrária ao interesse de todos.
Description
UCM subjects
Unesco subjects
Keywords
Citation
Aspromourgos, Tony. 2009. The Science of Wealth. Adam Smith and the framing of political economy, London: Routledge.
Bevilacqua, Vincent. 1965. “Adam Smith’s Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres”. Studies in Scottish Literature, 3(1), pp. 41-60.
Bevilacqua, Vincent. 1968. “Adam Smith and some philosophical origins of eighteenth-century rhetorical theory”, Modern Language Review, 63(3), pp. 559-568. doi:10.2307/3722195.
Bittermann, Henry J. 1940. “Adam Smith’s empiricism and the law of nature”, Journal of Political Economy 48(4/5), pp. 487-520, 703-734.
Brown, Vivienne. 1994. Adam Smith’s discourse. Canonicity. Commerce and Conscience. London and New York: Routledge.
Brown, Vivienne. 2016. “The Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres”, in R.P. Hanley (ed.), Adam Smith: His Life. Thought. and Legacy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 48–66.
Bruni, Filippo. 1987. “La nozione di lavoro in Adam Smith”, Rivista di Filosofia Neoscolastica, 79(1), pp. 67-95.
Burnyeat, Myles F. 1984. “The sceptic in his place and time”. In Rorty, R., Schneewind, J.B. & Skinner, Q. (eds), Philosophy in History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 225-254. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511625534.013
Campbell, Roy H. and Skinner, Andrew S. 1976. “General Introduction”, in A. Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-66.
Carabelli, Anna M. & Cedrini, Mario 2015. “From Theory to Policy? Keynes’ distinction between apparatus of thought and apparatus of action. with an Eye to the European debt crisis”, challenge, 58(6), pp. 509-31. doi: 10.1080/05775132.2015.1105666.
Cremaschi, Sergio. 1984. Il sistema della ricchezza. Economia politica e problema del metodo in Adam Smith. Milan: Angeli.
Cremaschi, Sergio. 1989. “Adam Smith. Sceptical Newtonianism, Disenchanted Republicanism, and the Birth of Social Science”, in M. Dascal, O. Gruengard (eds), Knowledge and Politics: Case Studies on the Relationship between Epistemology and Political Philosophy, Boulder, Co: Westview Press, pp. 83-110.
Cremaschi, Sergio. 2000. “Les Lumières Écossaises et le roman philosophique de Descartes”, in Y. Senderowicz & Y. Wahl (eds.). Descartes. Reception and Disenchantment. Tel Aviv: University Publishing Projects, pp. 65-88.
Cremaschi, Sergio. 2009. “Newtonian physics, experimental moral philosophy, and the shaping of political economy”, in R. Arena, Sh. Dow & M. Klaes (eds), Open Economics. Economics in Relation to Other Disciplines. Oxford: Routledge, pp. 73-94.
Cremaschi, Sergio. 2017a. “Adam Smith’s irony and the invisible hand”, Iberian Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 4(1), pp. 43-62. doi:10.5209/IJHE.56515
Cremaschi, Sergio. 2017b. “Adam Smith on savages”, Revue de philosophie économique, 18(1), pp. 13-36. doi:10.3917/rpec.181.0013.
Cremaschi. Sergio. 2002. “Metaphors in The Wealth of Nations”, in S. Boehm, Ch. Gierke, H. Kurz & R. Sturm (eds). Is There Progress in Economics? Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 89-114.
Endres, Anthony M. 1991. “Adam Smith’s Rhetoric of Economics: An Illustration Using ‘Smithian’ Compositional Rules”, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 38(1), pp. 76-95. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9485.1991.tb00302.x
Fiori, Stefano. 2021. Machines. Bodies and Invisible Hands: Metaphors of Order and Economic Theory in Adam Smith. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85206-1
Fleischacker, Samuel. 2004. On Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. A Philosophical Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Forbes, Duncan. 1975. “Sceptical Whiggism, Commerce and Liberty”, in A. Skinner & Th. Wilson (eds), Essays on Adam Smith, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 179-201.
Geach, Peter, 1956. “Good and Evil”. Analysis, 17(2), pp. 33-42.
Griswold, Charles L. Jr. 1999. Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Herzog, Lisa. 2013. Inventing the Market: Smith, Hegel, and Political Theory. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1017/S1053837215000152
Hume, David. 1748-1751. Enquiries concerning Human Understanding and concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. by P. H. Nidditch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975,
Keynes, John M. 1922. “Introduction to the Series Cambridge Economic Handbook”, in Economic Articles and Correspondence, vol. 2, ed. by D. Moggridge. The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes 12, London: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Economic Society, pp. 856-857.
Lafitau, Joseph-François. 1724. Moeurs des Sauvages Américains. comparées aux moeurs des premiers Temps. Paris: Maspéro. 1982 (Engl. transl. Customs of the American Indians compared with the customs of the primitive times, ed. by W.N. Fenton & E.L. Moore. Toronto: Champlain Society. 1974-1977).
Lindgren. John R. 1973. The Social Philosophy of Adam Smith. The Hague: Nijhoff.
López Lloret, J. 2019. “El fundamento lingüístico del pensamiento de Adam Smith”. Revista Empresa y Humanismo, 22(1), 71-100. doi:10.15581/015.XXII.1.71-100
López Lloret, Jorge. 2021a. Introducción, in A. Smith, Lecciones sobre retórica. Oviedo: KRK Ediciones, pp. 13-71.
López Lloret, Jorge. J. 2021b. “El proto-evolucionismo ilustrado de la teoría del lenguaje de Adam Smith”. Daimon. Revista Internacional de Filosofia, 33(83), 105-121. doi:10.6018/daimon.368931
McCloskey, D. 1985. The Rhetoric of Economics. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
McKenna, Stephen J. 2008. Adam Smith: The Rhetoric of Propriety. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Newton, Isaac. 1726. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, ed. by A. Koyré & I.B. Cohen. Cambridge, MASS: Harvard University Press, 1972.
Norton, David F. 1993. “An introduction to Hume’s thought”, in D. F. Norton (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Hume. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-32. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521382734.001
Nuzzo, Angelica. 2010. “The standpoint of morality”, The Adam Smith Review, 5, 3 pp. 7-55.
Ortmann, Andreas & Walraevens, Benoît. 2022. Adam Smith’s System. A Re-Interpretation Inspired by Smith’s Lectures on Rhetoric. Game Theory. and Conjectural History. Cham: Palgrave. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-99704-5.
Otteson, James R. 2002. Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pack, Spencer J. 1991. Capitalism as a Moral System: Adam Smith’s Critique of the Free Market Economy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511610196
Pack, Spencer J. 1995. “Theological (and hence economic) implications of A. Smith’s The Principles which lead and direct Philosophical Enquiries”, History of Political Economy, 27(2), pp. 289-307. doi:10.1215/00182702-27-2-289
Pack, Spencer J. 1996. “Adam Smith’s invisible/visible hand/chain/chaos”, in L.S. Moss (ed.), Perspectives on the History of Economic Thought: Selected Papers from the History of Economics Society Conference, 1994, pp. 181-195.
Pack, Spencer J. 2019. “Rousseau’s Influence on Smith’s Theory of Unintended Consequences. The Invisible Hand and Smith’s Understanding of History”, The Adam Smith Review, 11, pp. 36-52.
Popkin, Richard H. 2003. The History of Scepticism: From Savonarola to Bayle. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pownall, Robert. 1776. “A Letter from Governor Pownall”, in The Correspondence of Adam Smith. ed. by E. C. Mossner & I.S. Ross. Second ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997, pp. 447-484.
Schliesser, Eric. 2017. Adam Smith: Systematic Philosopher and Public Thinker. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190690120.001.0001
Sebastiani, Silvia. 2008. I limiti del progresso. Razza e genere nell’lluminismo scozzese. Il Mulino. Bologna (Engl. transl. 2013. The Scottish Enlightenment: Race. Gender. and the Limits of Progress Palgrave Studies in Cultural and Intellectual History. Cham: Palgrave).
Skinner, Andrew. 1983. “Adam Smith: rhetoric and the communication of ideas”, in A.W. Coats. (ed.), Methodological Controversy in Economics. London: JAI Press, pp. 71-88.
Smith, Adam. 1756. “Letter to the Edinburgh Review”, in Essays on Philosophical Subjects, ed. by W.P.D. Wightman, J.C. Bryce & I.S. Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980, pp. 250-256.
Smith, Adam. 1759. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, ed. by A.L. Macfie & D.D. Raphael. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.
Smith, Adam. 1767. “Consideration concerning the first formation of languages”, in Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, ed. by J.C. Bryce. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983, pp. 202-226.
Smith, Adam. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. 2 vols, ed. by R.H. Campbell, A.S. Skinner & W.B. Todd. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976
Smith, Adam. 1795a. “The principles which lead and direct philosophical enquires”, in Essays on Philosophical Subjects, ed. by W.P.D. Wightman, J.C. Bryce & I.S. Ross. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980, pp. 31-105.
Smith, Adam. 1795b, “Of the External Senses”, in Essays on Philosophical Subjects, ed. by W.P.D. Wightman, J.C. Bryce & I.S. Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980, pp. 135-170.
Smith, Adam. 1937. “Early Draft of part of The Wealth of Nations”, in Lectures on Jurisprudence, ed. by R.L. Meek, D.D. Raphael & P.G. Stein, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 562-580.
Smith, Adam. 1963. Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, ed. by J.C. Bryce. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983.
Smith, Adam. 1978. Lectures on Jurisprudence, ed. by R.L. Meek. D.D. Raphael & P.G. Stein. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Smith, Adam. 1997. The Correspondence of Adam Smith, ed. by E. C. Mossner & I.S. Ross. Second edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Stewart, Dugald. 1794. “An Account of the Life and Writings of Adam Smith”, in Essays on Philosophical Subjects, ed. by W.P.D. Wightman, J.C. Bryce & I.S. Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980, pp. 269-332.
Talmor, Ezra. 1980. Descartes and Hume. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Trincado Aznar, Estrella. 2019. The Birth of Economic Rhetoric: Communication. Arts and Economic Stimulus in David Hume and Adam Smith. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14306-0
Vivenza, Gloria. 2001. Adam Smith and the Classics. The Classical Heritage in Adam Smith’s Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press.