How Do Self-Interest, Competition, And Individualism Lead To Economic Prosperity?

Words: 499

Pages: 2

Open Document

While John Locke demonstrates man’s rights to his on property and to individualism, another philosopher and economist, Scottish-born Adam Smith (1723-1790), expounded on the idea that rational self-interest, competition, and individualism can actually lead to economic prosperity. In An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations he combines his view of economic structure and human nature. Before elucidating on his ideas, it is necessary to explain that Smith was not an affluent man who cared only for himself and dismissed the proletariats of society. Smith overtly states that his dominant concern in the Wealth of nations is to create a “universal opulence which extends itself to the lowest ranks of the people”. Adam Smith directly opposed the cynical view of Thomas Hobbes and Bernard Mandeville concerning human nature with the first sentences of The Theory of Moral Sentiments: “However selfish man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though they derive nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it.” Smith posits that self-interest by men of rapacity inadvertently promotes the interests of society more effectively then if he had intentionally given alms, and thus it should be encouraged. …show more content…
Smith calls this the invisible hand which leads men to make the same distribution of necessities as if the whole world was divided equally and a portion given to each individual. Smith tells the story of a young boy who enjoyed playing with his friends, whose job was to turn a lever on a fire

Management Theory and Communications Midterm Cc Essay

Efficiency: A measure of how well or how productively resources are used to achieve a goal. Effectiveness: A measure of the appropriateness of the goals an organization is pursuing and the degree to which they are achieved. Decisional Roles associated with methods managers use in planning strategy and utilizing resources: Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocator, Negotiator. Interpersonal Roles that managers assume to provide direction and supervision to both employees and the organization…

Words 2065 - Pages 9

Essay on Final Study Guide for Livanis Intl 1101

INTL 1101 Final Exam Study Guide Americanization - Consumerism, individualism - American products and values - Cultural imperialism? Trying to homogenize world? McDonaldization - Fast-food principles dominant in American and other societies - Uniform standards - Lack of human creativity - Dehumanization of social relations Infantilization - Benjamin Barber “consumed” - Against “ethos of infantilization” that sustains global capitalism - Turning of adults into children…

Words 3747 - Pages 15

IB Notes Essay

consumers to make a profit Transactions: exchange of things of value Domestic business: most of transactions within borders of the country in which it is based. Relies primarily on products and services made in Canada International business: the economic system of transactions conducted between businesses located in different countries Domestic market: all your customers live in the country where your business operates Foreign market: consists of all the customers in a country other than your…

Words 7221 - Pages 29

Notes On Economics

Economics oikos to managenemo house - social study - teaches how to use efficiently scarce resources (human, capital, money, resources) Micro-economics using resources at a firm’s level Macro-economis using resources at a national level (federal/provincial) Types: Analytical/Positive - based on facts ex. Inflation rate, growth rate, unemployment rate - normative based on opinion Fallacy - a statement that appears to be true but is not a) Fallacy of Composition - what is…

Words 8231 - Pages 33

Essay on The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It

Jefferson used his strong reasoning and logic to lead him through his presidency. Born into aristocracy, Thomas Jefferson had a varied early life, was involved with politics from a young age, and advocated for the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson, born into Virginia aristocracy, was very generous…

Words 7046 - Pages 29

Globalization and New York Essay

of consensus as to whether or not globalization is a useful concept to portray current events.[2] While most conceptions focus on different aspects of growing interdependence be it economic, cultural, technological, and the like, at a basic level globalization refers to growing interconnectedness. Some certainly do reject the notion that we have entered a fundamentally new era.[3] There are many, however, who see globalization as a genuine restructuring of social organization. Most definitions…

Words 8405 - Pages 34

Generations in the Workplace Essay

explain these differences and how to possibly overcome these differences. Summaries and Critiques 1st Article: Young workers’ work values, attitudes, and behaviors. According to Loughlin and Barling (2001), young workers are the workforce of the future. This paper focuses on 2 major influences on their work values, attitudes, and behaviors; the influences of their families and their work experience. Most of the emphasis is directed toward their work experiences and how these experiences shaped…

Words 3620 - Pages 15

Vietnam War and African American People Essay

and people’s life style improved. * The life’s of farmers and African Americans was not so easy however, and by the end of the 1920’s everyone’s lives were affected by the financial collapse sparked by the Wall Street crash. How and why did the USA achieve prosperity in the 1920’s? The USA entered the First World War in 1918 with American soldiers fighting on the Western front. President Woodrow Wilson played an important role at the peace talks. His fourteen points of 1918 were in theory…

Words 9542 - Pages 39

Reengineering in Access Bank Plc Essay

execution. When a process is using the CPU, it is actually running and doing some work. However, it will not always stay in that state. If a process does I/O and the device is not ready or just slow, the process will become blocked and be unable to do any more work until the I/O is complete. In a multitasking environment, a process is not allowed to use the CPU all the time. At intervals (maybe signalled by a timer interrupt) it will be stopped by the O/S so that another process can run. In this…

Words 15007 - Pages 61