Reciprocating Monads: Individuals, The Wealth of Nations, and the Dream of Economic Science

Robert Urquhart

Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 1994, vol. 41, issue 4, 394-415

Abstract: The Wealth of Nations is a pivotal point for understanding the place of the individual in economic theory. Individuals in The Wealt of Nations are reciprocating monads, engaged in necessary relations with others but only for their own self-interest. Looking back to The Theory of Moral Sentiments we can see that Smith was forced to this formulation by the new requirements of economic science. Looking forward, we see the exigencies of economic science, especially in neoclassical economics, force the individual to become entirely a monad. This raises the question as to whether the demands of science are conducive to an economic theory adequate to its subject matter. Copyright 1994 by Scottish Economic Society.

Date: 1994
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