https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith PÅ DANSK

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith

Adam Smith (baptised 16 June 1723 – 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Principles Which Lead and Direct Philosophical Enquiries, Illustrated by the History of Astronomy, prior to 1758, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759, and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. It earned him an enormous reputation and would become one of the most influential works ever published. Smith is widely cited as the father of modern economics and capitalism. In 2009, Smith was named among the 'Greatest Scots' of all time, in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV.

Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College in the University of Oxford, where he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by his fellow Glaswegian John Snell. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Smith then returned home and spent the next ten years writing The Wealth of Nations, publishing it in 1776. He died in 1790 at the age of 67.

Personality and beliefs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith#Personality_and_beliefs

Published works

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith#Published_works

Legacy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith#Legacy

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith

Adam Smith (Kirkcaldy, rond 5 juni 1723 - Edinburgh, 17 juli 1790) was een Schotse moraalfilosoof en een pionier op het gebied van de politieke economie. Adam Smith was één van de belangrijkste figuren van de Schotse verlichting. Hij is de auteur van The Theory of Moral Sentiments en An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Dit laatste werk, meestal afgekort als The Wealth of Nations, wordt beschouwd als zijn magnum opus en het eerste moderne werk in de economie. Smith wordt alom genoemd als de vader van de moderne economie. Ook wordt hij beschouwd als één van de grondleggers van het klassieke liberalisme. Hij was van mening dat het nastreven van het eigen individuele belang ook in het grootste maatschappelijk belang zou resulteren. Een vrije markt "..... levert het meeste op voor de maatschappij als geheel". De "..... 'onzichtbare hand' van deze vrije markt zorgt voor harmonie en evenwicht". Smith studeerde moraalfilosofie aan de Universiteit van Glasgow en de Universiteit van Oxford. Na zijn afstuderen gaf hij een succesvolle reeks van openbare colleges te Edinburgh, waardoor hij in contact kwam met David Hume, met wie hij daarna nauw bleef samenwerken. Smith verkreeg een hoogleraarschap aan de Universiteit van Glasgow, waar hij moraalfilosofie doceerde. In deze tijd schreef en publiceerde hij The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Later in zijn leven accepteerde hij een tutoring positie, die hem in staat stelde om door Europa te reizen. Tijdens zijn reizen kwam hij in contact met een aantal van de intellectuele zwaargewichten uit zijn tijd. Nadat Smith weer naar Schotland was teruggekeerd werkte hij tien jaar aan het schrijven aan The Wealth of Nations. Dit werk werd in 1776 gepubliceerd. Hij stierf in 1790.

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Adam Smith (1723-1790) argues that justice is the only virtue which may be imposed by force:
There is, however, another virtue, of which the observance is not left to the freedom of our own wills, which may be extorted by force, and of which the violation exposes to resentment, and consequently to punishment. This virtue is justice: the violation of justice is injury: it does real and positive hurt to some particular persons, from motives which are naturally disapproved of. It is, therefore, the proper object of resentment, and of punishment, which is the natural consequence of resentment.
This passage from Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments is the companion piece to the quote on not using force to promote beneficence. Because justice is “the pillar” which holds up the edifice of society, and because its violation causes “real and positive hurt” to individuals, Smith believes it is the only “social virtue” which can be imposed by the use of force. Furthermore, the violence can be used by the individual whose “justice” is being violated, as well as by others (who are not specified but might include that individual’s friends and neighbors), since Smith argues in the following passage that “among equals each individual is naturally, and antecedent to the institution of civil government, regarded as having a right both to defend himself from injuries, and to exact a certain degree of punishment for those which have been done to him.” Smith’s dislike of the use of force to enforce any other social virtue other than justice is intense and concludes that “upon all such occasions, for equals to use force against one another, would be thought the highest degree of insolence and presumption.”
[https://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/adam-smith-on-the-legitimacy-of-u...]