ECS3705-Study-Unit-2-Adam-Smith

When studying this unit, you should aim at gaining knowledge and understanding of the following: • The main tenets of the Enlightenment worldview. • How both the Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations suggest different ways of reconciling individual freedom with the achievement of the common good. • How the division of labour enhances productivity and ultimately leads to mechanisation and industrialisation. • How the size of the market limits the division of labour. • The meaning of Smith’s concept of self-interest and how that concept may be differentiated from pure selfishness or greed. • Why in modern capitalism competition is less likely to guide private interests towards the common good than in Smith’s time. • The two main reasons why, according to Smith, state interference is likely to be ineffective in furthering the common good.