Adam Smith's moral foundations of self-interest and ethical social order

IF 1 Q3 ECONOMICS

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS Pub Date : 2023-09-11 DOI:10.1111/ecaf.12592

Mikko Arevuo

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article draws on textual evidence from The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations to address mistaken interpretations of Adam Smith's fundamental concept of self-interest as greed that has been said to have had a corrosive influence on markets, commercial behaviour, and widening inequality. To the contrary, Smith's complex set of human motivations, including self-interest, his economic system that is based on free markets, and institutional frameworks governing productive property rights and the rule of law are argued to increase aggregate wealth, improve the position of those least well off, and maintain ethical social order.

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亚当的利己主义道德基础与伦理社会秩序

本文引用了《道德情操论》和《国富论》中的文本证据，以解决对亚当·斯密的利己主义基本概念的错误解释，即贪婪，据说贪婪对市场、商业行为和日益扩大的不平等产生了腐蚀性影响。相反，史密斯的一系列复杂的人类动机，包括自身利益，他基于自由市场的经济体系，以及管理生产产权和法治的制度框架，被认为是为了增加总财富，改善最不富裕人群的地位，维护道德社会秩序。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS ECONOMICS-

CiteScore

1.40

自引率

14.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Economic Affairs is a journal for those interested in the application of economic principles to practical affairs. It aims to stimulate debate on economic and social problems by asking its authors, while analysing complex issues, to make their analysis and conclusions accessible to a wide audience. Each issue has a theme on which the main articles focus, providing a succinct and up-to-date review of a particular field of applied economics. Themes in 2008 included: New Perspectives on the Economics and Politics of Ageing, Housing for the Poor: the Role of Government, The Economic Analysis of Institutions, and Healthcare: State Failure. Academics are also invited to submit additional articles on subjects related to the coverage of the journal. There is section of double blind refereed articles and a section for shorter pieces that are reviewed by our Editorial Board (Economic Viewpoints). Please contact the editor for full submission details for both sections.