HIST363: Global Perspectives on Industrialization

There had been considerable controversy as to whether there was a contradiction between Smith's emphasis on sympathy in his Theory of Moral Sentiments and the key role of self-interest in the Wealth of Nations. Economist Joseph Schumpeter referred to this in German as das Adam Smith Problem. In his Moral Sentiments Smith seems to emphasize the broad synchronization of human intention and behavior under a beneficent Providence, while in the Wealth of Nations, in spite of the general theme of "the invisible hand" creating harmony out of conflicting self-interests, he finds many more occasions for pointing out cases of conflict and of the narrow selfishness of human motives.

This position has been challenged by Michael Novak in The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism who takes to task those who suggest that there is a discrepancy between Smith's moral attitude as reflected in The Wealth of Nations and the attitude which one finds in his earlier work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Novak addresses the position advocated by late nineteenth century German and British historians of thought who held that in Wealth of Nations, Smith had supplanted the role of sympathy in moral decision-making, so emphasized in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, with self-interest.

Novak points out that Moral Sentiments had six different editions. Each was carefully reviewed by Adam Smith himself. The last time Smith reviewed this work was in 1790, or fourteen years after the publication of The Wealth of Nations. For Novak, the fact that Smith had not edited his views on sympathy indicates that his views remained constant. In contrast, in the final edition of Moral Sentiments, Smith did remove the passage referring to the spiritual significance of Christ's crucifixion.