CHAPTER 4 MORAL CAPITALISM: USING PRIVATE INTEREST FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
… he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. … By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.
—Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations1
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
—Proverbs 29:18
THE ARGUMENT FOR MORAL CAPITALISM has two parts. First, as Adam Smith asserted in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, free markets have an inherent tendency to bring about a convergence of virtue and interest. In other words, the logic of self-interest considered upon the ...
Get Moral Capitalism now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
