One of my favorite blogs is Adam Smith's Lost Legacy, written by economic historian Gavin Kennedy. He frequently finds mentions of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" from around the web and then debunks the abuse of Smith's views. The metaphor mentioned only twice in passing in The Wealth of Nations, was appropriated by economists over the last half century to support modern notions of free markets. He wrote an intriguing article on Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand: From Metaphor to Myth.
But Kennedy also helps interpret other aspects of Smith's work. Some economists apply economic principles to the formation of religious organizations. Smith is identified as having supported a competitive religious marketplace over state-run monopolies to promote religion. Kennedy writes in Adam Smith's Authentic Views On Church and State:
… I think these long quotations encapsulate what Smith was about in arguing for a multiplicity of sects, namely that the very competition of each would act as a balm on the otherwise violent, or at least the disturbing clamour of their zealots at the expense of public tranquility. It was not aimed at causing larger congregations so much, perhaps, as allowing room for the tolerance of a third-sect of potentially non-religious citizenry, living amidst a large number of religious sects at peace with each other. …
Understanding Smith's comments in context adds a lot. Interesting stuff!
Leave a Reply