Producing the Present through the Past: Adam Smith and the Inevitability of the Economy

Abstract

This article makes two claims: first, “the economy” in its contemporary sense is distinct from the object of classical political economy; and second, despite this distinction, social scientists have generated a narrative history of the economy that contributes to its appearance as natural and inevitable by presenting it as a continuous object. This article briefly examines some of the ways in which we read the language of “the economy” back onto Smith, contributing to this appearance of continuity. This article then demonstrates that while Smith may have originated or elaborated many of the concepts used by contemporary economists, he did not understand his own object to be “the economy,” and concludes with a brief discussion of the political possibilities opened up by such an assertion. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2024 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]