On 11/3/2011 11:19 AM, Jim Devine wrote: > A lot of what I've read suggests that on the "horizontal" dimension, > Smith leaned a bit toward 20th century liberalism (e.g., anti-trust) > rather than being a pure proponent of 19th century liberalism (i.e., > _laissez faire_). But on the vertical -- class -- dimension, it's > clear to me that he was pretty conservative, not having any respect > for the working poor, for example. He also saw little difference > between the craft workers and their "masters." This reflects the > conditions of his time and place, where mobility between being an > employee and an employer went both ways (sort of like in some sectors > of construction in the US until recently). But people often assume > that this part of Smith's view still applies, which is a mistake. > (Any correction of my impressions about Smith would be appreciated.)
> Review > Dogan Göçmen, The Adam Smith Problem. London: Tauris, 2007. 189 pp. ISBN > 9781845114008 hardback, £59.50. Reviewed by Paul Cockshott.1 > This book reveals a very different Adam Smith. It reveals a Smith far removed > from the unconditional advocate of free-market economics that he is often > thought to be. The problem referred to is: how are we to reconcile two > apparently > distinct Smiths? On the one hand, the well-known Smith of The Wealth > of Nations, perceived as an advocate of commercial society; on the other, the > moral philosopher who wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments, perceived as an > advocate of a notion of sympathy that seems quite at variance with the > capitalist > ethos. Göçmen’s aim is to show that these two apparently different Smiths > were exponents of a single unified philosophical position, which was moreover > much more critical of what later came to be called capitalism than might > initially be supposed. It is a bold claim, but one that Göçmen goes a > considerable > way towards establishing. full: http://www.equinoxjournals.com/JCR/article/viewArticle/6451 _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
