Abstract
Adam Smith writes history to teach people how a plurality of forces informs our moral and economic actions. He employs the stadial theory—prevalent in his day—to explore four different states, or kinds of society, but he does not intend to use these to write a simple, linear history of the ‘stages’ of human progress. This article employs Smith’s typological method for writing history to create a four-fold typology of how contemporary scholars have interpreted Smith’s use of history. By using an approach, drawn from Smith’s historiography, to understand his later interpreters, this article demonstrates that Smith’s approach to history is about telling a story that embraces plurality, holds differences in tension, and resists simplification.
Highlights
Adam Smith forms an approach to moral and economic practices that takes history seriously
Smith’s historiography captures the variety and dynamics of human life in different places and times. He uses a four-fold typology to capture these dynamics: the social types of hunter/gatherer, herding, agricultural, AUTHOR’S NOTE: I would like to thank my colleagues at the History of Economics Society, especially Stephen Meardon, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments
Rather than seeing any of the four types of later Smithian interpretation as fundamentally flawed or his project as inescapably vague or contradictory, scholars should recognize the tensions in his narration of history as reflective of his historiography and of the tensions in the world that people must understand in order to be prudent moral and economic actors
Summary
Adam Smith forms an approach to moral and economic practices that takes history seriously He shows that the way humans act as moral and economic agents depends on how we understand the story of human history. He sees that this story develops using the same tools of imagination and sympathy that help build moral judgment and form the basis of economic exchange. Smith’s historiography captures the variety and dynamics of human life in different places and times He uses a four-fold typology to capture these dynamics: the social types of hunter/gatherer, herding, agricultural, AUTHOR’S NOTE: I would like to thank my colleagues at the History of Economics Society, especially Stephen Meardon, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Rather than seeing any of the four types of later Smithian interpretation as fundamentally flawed or his project as inescapably vague or contradictory, scholars should recognize the tensions in his narration of history as reflective of his historiography and of the tensions in the world that people must understand in order to be prudent moral and economic actors
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