Politischer und wirtschaftlicher Liberalismus

Abstract

The metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ not only characterises Smith’s understanding of competitive processes in free markets but also his theory of political liberalism. Smithʼs theory of economic and political liberalism is based on the assumption of autonomous processes in the development of morality, laws and the social order. These processes lead to a natural harmony of individual interests in politics and economics. However, Smith does not associate these ideas with the demand for a minimal state. Instead, he assigns the state a much more active role than is generally assumed. The analyses in this book of Smith’s reception by authors in the 19th century (in the US and Germany) and of his relevance for current analyses of political challenges show that the question of which conditions need to be fulfilled to ensure the stability of liberal societies is still a crucial one in political philosophy and science. With contributions by Michael Aßländer, Christel Fricke, Hendrik Hansen, Michael Hochgeschwender, Tobias Knobloch, Tim Kraski, Heinz D. Kurz, Birger Priddat, Bastian Ronge, Rolf Steltemeier, Richard Sturn