The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Before Adam Smith got round to inventing economics in The Wealth of Nations he invented social psychology in The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Under Smith’s synthesis it’s sympathy that’s the glue that brings people together, underpins human morality and drives the engine of economic progress. Without fellow feeling there’s no basis for any kind of exchange, whether of simple gifts, bodily fluids or physical goods.
Smith, of course, was a man way ahead of his time. However, it’s still rather remarkable to discover it’s taken to the twenty first century to uncover the evidence that his intuition was not just correct as a theory of economics but is actually built into the structure of our brains. If you’ve ever bounced out of a feel-good film, full of effervescent vim you’ll know exactly what Smith was on about: we’re designed for sympathy and thus built for trade.
Before Adam Smith got round to inventing economics in The Wealth of Nations he invented social psychology in The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Under Smith’s synthesis it’s sympathy that’s the glue that brings people together, underpins human morality and drives the engine of economic progress. Without fellow feeling there’s no basis for any kind of exchange, whether of simple gifts, bodily fluids or physical goods.
Smith, of course, was a man way ahead of his time. However, it’s still rather remarkable to discover it’s taken to the twenty first century to uncover the evidence that his intuition was not just correct as a theory of economics but is actually built into the structure of our brains. If you’ve ever bounced out of a feel-good film, full of effervescent vim you’ll know exactly what Smith was on about: we’re designed for sympathy and thus built for trade.
