Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations, Bk. 2, Ch.III, Of Accumulation of Capital, or of productive and unproductive labour

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Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 17th and 18th Centuries, grade: 1.0 (A), Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, course: The Scottish Enlightenment in its European Context, language: English, abstract: Adam Smith was a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and tied to the French andAmerican Enlightenments which were crucial chapters in the story of modernity. Smith'sstanding and influence were established early on. The publication of "The Theory ofMoral Sentiments" in 1759 quickly made him famous. Smith's only other published book,"An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" (published in 1776),was similarly received and won the careful scrutiny of Bentham, Hegel, and Marx,among the others. "The Wealth of Nations" clearly influenced thinkers in the AmericanFounding and has served as a touchstone in scholarly discussions about the workings andprotection of liberal economic arrangements."The Wealth of Nations" has among its chief aims the just and effective pursuit of wealth.Smith's book is undoubtedly the most famous and enduring Enlightenment contributionon this subject. The Enlightenment is closely tied to the liberation of the desire forwealth, and so to commerce and the free market which are, according to Smith, the mosteffective means to the satisfaction of that desire.This desire to live better can be found earlier in Hobbes' works. Charles L.Griswold, Jr.1in his book "Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment" gives some quotations fromHobbes' Leviathan and emphasises that a person is nothing without what Hobbes calls"perpetual tranquillity of mind". In other words, life is ceaselessly driven by desire,anxiety, and fear; it is eternally filled with disturbance and disquiet. Without anydisturbances and misfortunes we could not possess real "felicity of mind". [...]1 Charles L.Griswold, JR., Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment, Cambridge University Press,1999, p. 219

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