Traditionally thought of as opponents with irreconcilable ideologies, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith can be said to represent two very different views of the progress of eighteenth-century society. Rousseau's Discours sur l’origine de l’inégalité parmi les hommes abhors the inequality and corruption that has arisen in society as a result of commercial progress, and he channels these criticisms into his proposal for a more equal and enlightened society in Du contrat social. In contrast, Smith's The Wealth of Nations, and to a certain extent The Theory of Moral Sentiments, are often thought of as an exaltation of the capitalist society which Rousseau deplores. Yet an examination of their respective discourses reveals a striking similarity between certain aspects of their thought; as important commentators on modern commercial society, we can see that both are equally concerned with the threat that such a society posed to equality and morality. It is thus their similarities rather than their differences which form the focus of this chapter.

Scholars who have compared Rousseau and Smith and sought to re-examine their traditional opposition include Dennis C. Rasmussen (2008), Pierre Force (2003), Michael Ignatieff (1986), Donald Winch (1996: 66–75), Ryan Patrick Hanley (2008), Daniel Luban (2012), Harvey Mitchell (1989) and to some extent Maureen Harkin (2005). As far back as 1938 Richard B. Sewall stated that ‘the first paragraph of [The Theory of Moral Sentiments] is little more than a restatement of Rousseau's conception of pity’ (1938: 98). To date, comparative scholarship on Rousseau and Smith has concentrated on Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments as a response to Rousseau's many criticisms of modern commercial society, in particular those set forth in Discours sur l’origine de l’inégalité parmi les hommes and Du contrat social. That the two thinkers share a similar idea of pity (or in Smith's case, sympathy) is one of the fundamental theories which link Rousseau and Smith; for both it could be said that the capacity to empathise with others is an intrinsically natural mechanism and the fundamental basis of humanity.

Indeed, research which compares the discourses of Rousseau and Smith suggests that there is very real basis for considering the two thinkers as complementary, yet the majority of scholarly work is concentrated on Smith's response to Rousseau's theoretical works.