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|  | | Adam Smith's Model of Man and Some of Its Consequences | This papers discusses the relationship of the "model of man" presented by Adam Smith in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and the assumptions about human behavior which are quintessential for his An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776/77). It is argued that Smith?s observation of a "propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another" does not in general hold for human behavior. Moreover, there appears to be an inherent conflict with "sympathy", the key concept proposed in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, if we interpret it as the source of social evaluation, self-evaluation and individual action. Following Karl Polanyi's critical comments in The Great Transformation (1944), we will discuss some of the consequences of this incongruence for the philosophical foundations of modern economics and economic policy.
Presented at the conference on ?Human Nature as the basis of Morality and Society in Early Modern Philosophy?, University of Tartu (Estonia), December 15-17, 2005. A version of this paper is forthcoming in Homo Oeconomicus 23(3/4), 2007, pp.1-22. A shorter version, entitled ?Adam Smith's Model of Man and Why the Market Program Failed?, will be published in Acta Philosophica Fennica. | | | Autor | | Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Manfred J. Holler | | | | Artikel | | Fachbereich | | Fachrichtung | | 2007 | | Volkswirtschaftslehre | | Volkswirtschaftstheorie |
| | | | Schlagwörter | | Adam Smith, Commercial Society, Division of Labor, Free Trade, Impartial Spectator, Invisible Hand, Market Economy, Sympathy, Theory of Moral Sentiments, Wealth of Nations |
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