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SMITH AT 300: THE NATURAL RECOMPENSE OF LABOR

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2023

David Andrews*
Affiliation:
David Andrews: State University of New York at Oswego. Email: david.andrews@oswego.edu

Extract

There is a great deal of poetry, wit, and wisdom in the writings of Adam Smith, and many wonderful passages. I like this one for several reasons. I like its grammatical austerity. I like that it is active rather than passive. I like the way the verb in the present tense gives the impression of indefinite continuation. I like the way the dual, hylomorphic, meaning of “produce,” as both the act of producing and also the material result of production, corresponds nicely with the dual, hylomorphic, meaning of “constitutes,” as both the act of imposing form and also as the matter of which the product consists.

Type
Symposium: Smith at 300
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the History of Economics Society

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References

REFERENCES

Aspromourgos, Tony. 2009. The Science of Wealth: Adam Smith and the Framing of Political Economy. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Marshall, Alfred. [1890] 1961. Principles of Economics. Edited by Guillebaud, C. W.. London, New York: Macmillan for the Royal Economic Society.Google Scholar
Smith, Adam. [1776] 1976. The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith. Volume I: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Edited by Campbell, R. H., Skinner, A. S., and Todd, W. B.. Oxford: Clarendon.Google Scholar
Viner, Jacob. 1927. “Adam Smith and Laissez Faire.” Journal of Political Economy 35 (2): 198232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar