Roger Hollingsworth: "It is often forgotten that Adam Smith – an eighteenth century moral philosopher often considered the “father of capitalism” – believed the most important force coordinating relations among competing actors was not the state, but widely shared views about morality. For markets to work effectively it was necessary for buyers and sellers to have trust in one another. In the early history of capitalism, trust between buyers and sellers was the glue which held the system together. Trust was facilitated by traditional principles shared by both buyers and sellers. And in Western capitalism this kind of trust emerged from the ethical norms of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Over time, however, the success of capitalism unleashed the forces of industrialization and modernization, which undermined the strength of religious institutions and traditional obligations. Slowly there came to be a need for new mechanisms to coordinate the forces inherent in the system, which would otherwise generate systematic disorder."
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