The Cooptation of Adam Smith
Who knew that 20 years prior to The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote a tome on moral philosophy. ěWhen we consider the character of any individual, we naturally view it under two different aspects; first, as it may affect his own happiness; and secondly, as it may affect that of other peopleî (Part VI). Smith's views of the power of the nation-state as a necessary counterbalance to the myopic profit drive of business have been ditched completely in favor of selective concentration upon so-called principles of "free trade" and
Contemporary neo-liberal policies (liberalism is ok when applied to capital, just not when applied to people), have reified only those aspects of Smith's work which serves their purposes, discarding the rest. In fact, discussion of ethics has no place in the business literature, let alone as a determinant of business practice. One might even dare to say that the extent to which the capitalist system wreaks damage on the world and humanity is reflective in the depth of silence about ethics. It's not as if the individuals in corporations, politics, trade negotiations, policy-making etc don't know the ramifications of what they do: it is simply taken as a matter of course; an unfortunate, unintended consequence; the post-modern, cynical mode of survival. Adam Smith has been hijacked; and we're all onboard.
ěHow selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently
some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune
of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he
derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing itî (Part I).
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