Adam Smith on power and maritime trade

Martins, Nuno O.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/3137

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Authors

Martins, Nuno O.

Abstract(s)

Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is often interpreted as an explanation of the self-regulating nature of the market system, where an "invisible hand" leads to a harmonious coordination of different economic agents' pursuit of self-interest, so that economic development is brought about naturally through the division of labor. However, a closer reading of Smith's contribution shows that he saw the expansion of the market as a process typically driven by military and political power. For Smith, cases of a natural and spontaneous growth of industry occur only due to exceptional circumstances.