A New Look at Adam Smith

Abstract

If Smith's contribution to scientific economic thinking has to be defined or judged, it is invariably considered necessary to distinguish between (a) Smith's contribution to economics and his studies in other disciplines, such as ethics, sociology and psychology, and (b) Smith's scientific and normative statements. In the course of time, this attitude has led to the situation in which economists think that only The Wealth of Nations (1974) is relevant for their science and then just its first two books. The remaining three are generally considered to deal with economic politics and economic history. The expositions on the first of these subjects are considered to be inconsequential; because of their normative character they are not scientific. The parts on economic history in The Wealth of Nations are brushed aside because they are supposed to be of very minor importance in Smith's analysis of the production and distribution of wealth. Hollander (1976), for instance, recognises the empirico-historical character of Smith's investigations in the field of moral philosophy, but at the same time thinks that this aspect is not necessary for a thorough understanding of Smith's contribution to economic analysis. © Emerald Backfiles 1989