Wealth and sensibility. The historical outcome of better living conditions for all according to Adam Smith

Michele Bee

The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2018, vol. 25, issue 3, 473-492

Abstract: In this paper, I argue that Smith's commercial society is characterised more by restraint of self-command than by restraint of emotions through self-command, as usually stated. According to Smith, the appropriate degree of self-command varies with historical circumstances: better living conditions for all favour relaxation of self-command and lead people to express their sentiments more freely. I thus highlight a crucial link in Smith's thought between variations in general economic conditions and variations in moral judgement on the expression of emotions, or, in other words, between The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/09672567.2018.1449876

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