Table Of ContentThis page intentionally left blank
SELF-INTEREST BEFORE ADAM SMITH
AGenealogyofEconomicScience
Self-Interest before Adam Smith inquires into the foundations of
economictheory.Itisgenerallyassumedthatthebirthofmoderneco-
nomicscience,markedbythepublicationofTheWealthofNationsin
1776,wasthetriumphofthe“selfishhypothesis”(theideathatself-
interestisthemotiveofhumanaction).Yet,asaneo-Epicureanidea,
this hypothesis had been a matter of controversy for over a century
andSmithopposeditfromaneo-Stoicpointofview.Buthowcanthe
Epicureanprinciplesoforthodoxeconomictheorybereconciledwith
theStoicprinciplesofAdamSmith’sphilosophy?PierreForceshows
howSmith’stheoryrefutesthe“selfishhypothesis”andintegratesitat
thesametime.HealsoexplainshowSmithappropriatedRousseau’s
“republican” critique of modern commercial society, and makes the
casethattheautonomyofeconomicscienceisanunintendedconse-
quence of Smith’s “republican” principles. This book sheds light on
someclassicpuzzlesofeconomictheoryandisamajorworkfroman
outstandingscholar.
pierre force, NellandHerbertM.SingerProfessorofContem-
porary Civilization and Professor of French at Columbia University
inNewYork,istheauthorofLeProbl`emeherm´eneutiquechezPascal
(1989)andMoli`ereouLePrixdeschoses(1994).
ideas in context
EditedbyQuentinSkinner(GeneralEditor),LorraineDaston,
DorothyRossandJamesTully
Thebooksinthisserieswilldiscusstheemergenceofintellectualtraditionsandof
relatednewdisciplines.Theprocedures,aimsandvocabulariesthatweregenerated
will be set in the context of the alternatives available within the contemporary
frameworksofideasandinstitutions.Throughdetailedstudiesoftheevolutionof
suchtraditions, andtheirmodificationby differentaudiences,it ishopedthata
newpicturewillformofthedevelopmentofideasintheirconcretecontexts.By
thismeans,artificialdistinctionsbetweenthehistoryofphilosophy,ofthevarious
sciences,ofsocietyandpolitics,andofliteraturemaybeseentodissolve.
TheseriesispublishedwiththesupportoftheExxonFoundation.
Alistofbooksintheserieswillbefoundattheendofthevolume.
SELF-INTEREST BEFORE
ADAM SMITH
A Genealogy of Economic Science
PIERRE FORCE
ColumbiaUniversity
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , United Kingdom
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambrid ge.org/9780521830607
© Pierre Force 2003
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2003
-
isbn-13 978-0-511-06291-9 eBook (NetLibrary)
-
isbn-10 0-511-06291-5 eBook (NetLibrary)
-
isbn-13 978-0-521-83060-7 hardback
-
isbn-10 0-521-83060-5 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Acknowledgments pageviii
Introduction 1
1 Self-interestasafirstprinciple 7
2 Epicureanvs.Stoicschemes 48
3 Self-interestandreason 91
4 Passions,interests,andsociety 135
5 Interestedanddisinterestedcommerce 169
6 Self-interestandthepublicgood 205
Conclusion 256
Bibliography 264
Index 276
vii
Acknowledgments
The topic of this book has been with me for a long time. I first touched
upon it in a 1989 article.1 It was in the background of my 1994 book on
Molie`re.2ThecolloquiumIorganizedattheMaisonFranc¸aiseofColumbia
Universityin1994wasdedicatedingreatparttotheseissues.3Someofthe
arguments developed in chapter 1 were presented in a Yale French Studies
articlein1997.4 Manyoftheideaspresentinthisbookweretestedinthe
seminarItaughtin1996,“TheCommerceoftheSelffromMontaigneto
Adam Smith,” and in the seminar I co-taught with Allan Silver in 2000,
“Self-InterestbeforeCapitalisminLiteratureandSocialTheory.”Theques-
tionsandcommentsfromstudentsintheseseminarsgreatlyhelpedmeto
clarifymythinking.ThisworkowesalottothemanyconversationsIhad
with Allan Silver, a colleague who is also a true friend. I thank another
friend, Kathy Eden, for helping me find my way in the complete works
of Augustine. Thanks are also due to Charles Larmore for several useful
suggestions, and to Knud Haakonssen for his generous advice on how to
navigate the waters of Smith scholarship. I also wish to acknowledge the
comments,suggestionsandcriticismsfromcolleaguesandfriendswhoread
parts of the manuscript. I had the opportunity to discuss chapter 1 with
the members of the Chicago Group on Modern France. Chapter 2 has
benefitedfromJeanLafond’sunmatchedexpertiseontheAugustiniantra-
dition in the early modern period. Incisive comments by Jon Elster and
JohnD.Collinshaveledmetoreformulatesomekeypassagesinchapter3.
1 “WhatIsaManWorth?EthicsandEconomicsinMolie`reandRousseau,”RomanicReview1(1989),
pp.18–29.
2 Moli`ereouLePrixdeschoses.Morale,´economieetcom´edie,Paris:Nathan,1994.
3 Delamoralea` l’´economiepolitique.Dialoguefranco-am´ericainsurlesmoralistesfran¸cais,editedby
PierreForceandDavidMorgan,introductionbyPierreForce,Pau:Publicationsdel’Universite´de
Pau,1996.
4 “Self-Love,Identification,andtheOriginofPoliticalEconomy,”inExploringtheConversibleWorld:
TextandSociabilityfromtheClassicalAgetotheEnlightenment,editedbyElenaRusso,YaleFrench
Studies92(1997),pp.46–64.
viii
Description:Pierre Force studies the history of the concept of self-interest to understand its meaning by the time that Adam Smith used it as an axiom in The Wealth of Nations. He demonstrates that Smith, unlike many of his predecessors and contemporaries, never endorsed the idea that self-interest is the motiv
