Unintended Consequences – Chosen Aspects: Adam Smith vs Bernard Mandeville
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/RF.2016.041Keywords
Adam Smith, Bernard Mandeville, unintended consequences, invisible handAbstract
The paper focuses on the chosen aspects of the role of unintended consequences in Adam Smith’s thought, including the issue of the invisible hand. However, without limiting his philosophical considerations the idea of unintended consequences the few instances where he mentions the invisible hand. Individuals when making decisions and undertaking actions are causing the unintended consequences, therefore due to the complexity of human motivations and behaviour it is extremely difficult to foresee other peoples’ behaviour and longterm results. This way unintended consequences play a crucial role in the process of modifying moral and social norms and institutions, in market exchange and development of the societies. Moreover some similarities and discrepancies between Adam Smith’s and Bernard Mandeville’s views on unintended consequences are pointed out. Mandeville notices that the consequences of actions we undertake can frequently differ from what was assumed when planning and criticized the ultimate belief in the power of a human mind.
References
Barry, N. “Z tradycji teorii ładu samorzutnego”. In Filozofia wolnego rynku. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak, 1994.
Berry, C.J. Social Theory of the Scottish Enlightenment. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997.
Campbell, T.D. Adam Smith’s Science of Morals, New York: Routledge, 2012.
Chalk, A.F. “Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees: A Reappraisal”. Southern Economic Journal 1966, vol. 33 (1).
Daiches, R.D. The Impartial Spectator. Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2009.
Grampp, W.D. “What did Smith Mean by the Invisible Hand”. Journal of Political Economy 2000, vol. 108 (3).
Griswold, C.L. Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Harrison, P. “Adam Smith and the History of the Invisible Hand”. Journal of the History of Ideas 2011, vol. 72 (1).
Hayek, A.F. New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and the history of Ideas. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1978.
Hull, D.L. “What’s wrong with Invisible-Hand Explanations?”. Philosophy of Science 1997, vol. 64.
Kuniński, M. “Wstęp. Z chaosu ład. O samorzutnym powstawaniu porządku społecznego”. In Filozofia wolnego rynku. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak, 1994.
Mandeville, B. The Fable of the Bees or Private Vices, Publick Benefits. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1988.
Maxwell, J.C. Ethics and Politics in Mandeville”. Philosophy 1951, vol. 26 (98).
Mehta, P.B. “Self-Interest and Other Interests”. In K. Haakonssen (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Adam Smith. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Nozick, R. “Invisible-Hand Explanations”. The American Economic Review1994, vol. 84 (2).
Otteson, J.R. Adam Smith. New York, London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
Otteson, J.R. Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Prendergast, R. “Knowledge, innovation and emulation in the evolutionary thought of Bernard Mandeville”. Cambridge Journal of Economics 2014 (38).
Rothschild, E. “Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand”. The American Economic Review 1994, Vol. 84 (2).
Rothschild, E. Economic Sentiments. Adam Smith, Condorcet, and the Enlightment. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Smith, A. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981.
Smith, A. “The Principles which lead and direct Philosophical Enquiries; illustrated by the History of Astronomy”. In Smith, A. Essays on Philosophical Subjects. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1982.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 1082
Number of citations: 0
