The Contemporary Relevance of Adam Smith

In Christopher J. Berry, Maria Pia Paganelli & Craig Smith (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2013)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The primary concern of this chapter is the contemporary relevance of Smith’s thoughts and analyses. It begins by considering some contemporary uses and abuses of Smith that have coloured his historical reputation and discusses how some contemporary economists have failed to appreciate the richness of his discussion of morality and human behaviour. It seeks to dispel these abuses by focusing on his balanced argument for supporting a society with multiple institutions in which the market would do its important job, without eliminating the role of other institutions, including the state, which can play their part in providing public goods like basic education and offering economic support for the poor, in addition to its limited—but important—function in regulating the market. The chapter ends by considering Smith’s thought in the light of the work of John Rawls and the contemporary discussion of justice applied in an increasingly globalized and cosmopolitan world.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 101,810

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life.James R. Otteson - 2002 - Cambridge University Press.
Adam Smith: Methods, Morals, and Markets.Tom Campbell - 2013 - In Christopher J. Berry, Maria Pia Paganelli & Craig Smith (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Adam Smith: his life, thought, and legacy.Ryan Patrick Hanley (ed.) - 2016 - Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Adam Smith and the Law.Fabrizio Simon - 2013 - In Christopher J. Berry, Maria Pia Paganelli & Craig Smith (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smith on Moral Sentiment and Moral Luck.Paul Russell - 1999 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 16 (1):37 - 58.
Adam Smith and the contemporary world.Amartya Sen - 2010 - Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics 3 (1):50-67.
Adam Smith and the invisible hand of God.Brendan Long - 2022 - New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
More Than Free Markets: Adam Smith and the Virtue of Responsibility.Joe Blosser - 2016 - Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 36 (1):163-179.

Analytics

Added to PP
2016-10-24

Downloads
11 (#1,437,125)

6 months
9 (#514,641)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Amartya Sen
Harvard University

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references