The Wealth of Nations Essay examples -- Economics Economy Politics Ess

The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith’s famous attempt to explain the nature and causes of the wealth of nations rests on several crucial assumptions about human nature which in turn rely on false universalism and questionable dichotomies. To begin with, Smith makes roughly three claims about human nature. Primarily, Smith assumes that self-interest is inherent in all human beings. As opposed to animals which rely on benevolence, in opposition to natural pity (Rousseau p. 53), the human â€Å"will be more likely to prevail if he can interest [others’] self-love in his favour, and show them that it is for their own advantage to do for him what he requires of them† (Smith, p. 18). Smith later relies on this â€Å"self-love† to ground his arguments on the steady base of human nature. More subtly, the â€Å"faculties of reason and speech† play a crucial role in Smith’s treatment of human behavior. Although he never openly lists these â€Å"faculties† as essential to human nature, his argument relies on this assumption. The step from having some goods and needing others to trading with those who have the needed goods and want the overabundant ones cannot be warranted without a presumption of a rational actor. Similarly, every development towards improved efficiency, if these are anything more guided than random evolutionary steps, require such an actor to instigate it. In the case of the arrowmaker, Smith must assume some force driving the arrow maker to save time and maximize profits. Of course, the concepts of barter, trade, and the rest require speech, or some kind of communication. Finally, Smith instills â€Å"a certain propensity in human nature; the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another.† (Smith p. 17). This, he sugg... ...to the commonness of rationality. Far from all cultures were capitalistic, nor is it possible to prove any would have become capitalistic in the future. Thus Smith’s description of human nature is applicable primarily to Western European coastal trading humans, rather than to the supposed universal and original human specimen. WORKS CITED Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. Ed. Cannan, Edwin. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago Press, 1976. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. â€Å"Discourse on the Origin of Inequality.† The Basic Political Writings. Trans. Cress, Donald A. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1987. Visvanathan, Shiv. â€Å"The Laboratory State.† Science, Violence, and Hegemony: A Requiem for Modernity. Oxford University Press, 1988. October 11, 2001.