Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Economics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Economic History

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Series

Adam Smith

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Economics

"Introduction" To "Symposium: The Fate Of Anglo-American Capitalism", Sandra J. Peart Jan 2011

"Introduction" To "Symposium: The Fate Of Anglo-American Capitalism", Sandra J. Peart

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The call for papers in this special issue asked whether there is a future for the robust sort of capitalism favoured by Adam Smith or whether we have reached a limit to Anglo-American capitalism as the engine of human betterment. Contemporary events loomed large late in 2008 and it seemed appropriate to consider whether Anglo-American capitalism was passing away. We were particularly interested in contributions that viewed current economic events through a lens informed by Smith's teaching on institutions, money and economic growth.


Adam Smith And The Place Of Faction, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy Jan 2009

Adam Smith And The Place Of Faction, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Our approach to faction focuses on Smith’s account of the interrelation between social distance and small group cohesion. We make the case that social distance is not necessarily constant in Smith’s system. As social distance shrinks, sympathy becomes more habitual and the affection we have for others increases (Peart and Levy, 2005b). Factions reduce social distance, and this gives them power and makes them dangerous. By modifying social distance, they created a disconnect between behavior of which we approve (cooperation) and consequences of which we disapprove. It is in this context that we find virtuous behavior with deleterious consequences. The …


Attitudes Toward Race, Hierarchy And Transformation In The 19th Century, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy Jan 2005

Attitudes Toward Race, Hierarchy And Transformation In The 19th Century, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Using the debates between Classical political economists and their critics as our lens, this paper examines the question of whether we're the same or different. Starting with Adam Smith, Classical economics presumed that humans are the same in their capacity for language and trade ; observed differences were then explained by incentives, luck and history, and it is the "vanity of the philosopher" incorrectly to conclude otherwise. Such "analytical egalitarianism" was overthrown sometime after 1850 , when notions of race and hierarchy came to infect social analysis as a result of attacks on homogeneity by the Victorian Sages (including Thomas …