Smith talks about mercantilism, not capitalism, and says wounding things about the market. Those bits don’t get quoted; they tell the wrong story. One just hears about the “invisible hand,” how glorious and self-regulating capitalism is! Again, I apologize for sounding pretentious and high-flown, but there are 950 more pages in the “Wealth of Nations.” However, the first fifty are the only ones that get quoted from. And when you take an Economics 101 course at university, you’ll maybe read two pages. And yes, you’ll encounter the invisible hand and the “truck, barter, and exchange” quote. A dirty little secret: your economics professor has quite likely not read the whole text. Shh.
Smith, along with longtime friend David Hume (1711-1776), made revolutionary contributions to moral philosophy. His “Theory of Moral Sentiments” is a beautifully written book that builds on the notion of human morality being wired into us. We feel our morality. Yes, your parents and maybe your religion fine-tuned your values, but your core sense of right and wrong is native. You’re born with it.
My favorite Smith quote, and probably one of my favorite quotes of all time is: “If we saw ourselves in the light in which others see us, or in which they would see us if they knew all, a reformation would generally be unavoidable.” This applies to us and it applies to entire cultures and societies. If you could see yourself as others see you, you would probably make changes. If an alien race saw Facebook, they would draw immediate conclusions. They would see how ridiculous so many look. How embarrassing it all is. When future documentaries are made about early-twenty-first-century America, we’re all going to look stupid. It’s going to be hard to watch. Yep, there we are.
Smith’s TMS is an extraordinary text, and is receiving greater, overdue attention. If you’re curious, get the Cambridge edition edited by Knud Haakonssen. That’s the one to get.
Pictured is a new copy of WN that I ordered. I wanted a fresh copy; the copy I have has a funky spine and it’s glued weird. Can’t have that! Such a beautiful book.
