Business Ethics and the Origins of Contemporary Capitalism: Economics and Ethics in the Work of Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer

Both Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer, albeit in quite different ways, have been enormously influential in what we today take to be philosophies of modern capitalism. Surprisingly it is Spencer, not Smith, who is the individualist, perhaps an egoist, and supports a "night watchman" theory of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business ethics 2000-04, Vol.24 (3), p.185-198
Main Author: Werhane, Patricia H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Business ethics
Capitalism
Commerce
Commutative justice
Economic justification
Economic theory
Economic thought
Economists
Evolution
Free enterprise
History of economic thought
Humans
Libertarianism
Organisms
Philosophers
Philosophy
Political economy
Political ethics
Private enterprises
Reading
Self interest
Smith, Adam (1723-1790)
Social evolution
Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903)
Studies
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:Both Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer, albeit in quite different ways, have been enormously influential in what we today take to be philosophies of modern capitalism. Surprisingly it is Spencer, not Smith, who is the individualist, perhaps an egoist, and supports a "night watchman" theory of the state. Smith's concept of political economy is a notion that needs to be revisited, and Spencer's theory of democratic workplace management offers a refreshing twist on contemporary libertarianism.
ISSN:0167-4544
1573-0697
DOI:10.1023/A:1005937623890