Adam Smith Was Wrong - Sort Of Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher in the 18th century. His flagship work, An Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations, propelled him into a leadership role with respect to economic thought. His ideas were clear and compelling. With respect to labour, he explained how each persons employment inadvertently benefited society, By directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of greatest value, 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. Fundamentally, what he was saying 233 years ago is people are basically selfish and any good that comes to society as a result of our industry is an unintentional by-product. This notion became known in economics as the invisible hand. The economy just worked as a result of each person seeking to improve his or her lot without much regard for the welfare of others. Fast forward to 2009. People are still inherently selfish. Most people make decisions based on the whats in it for me? principle. The invisible hand is still at work. What Adam Smith could not foresee, however, was our population explosion combined with globalization. In the world of Adam Smith, nations were islands of independence and there was no Internet. So what? In a world of the advantaged and the severely disadvantaged, where ideas can spread like viruses across the globe via the Internet, we are compelled to care for the welfare of all people. People like Osama bin Laden are extremely powerful because they are propagators of ideas. Their ideas spread easily by virtue of technologies like the Internet and their ideas appeal to the most disadvantaged. Those with nothing having nothing to lose. They are easily attracted to the idea of blowing up the world, or at least large portions of society, and starting over. Those of us with a comfortable existence and lots of prospects for the future, have lots to lose. We are quite comfortable with the status quo. The status quo, however, is at risk. If those of us who have continue to act as if those who have not dont matter, we will find one day that the status quo has blown up in our faces. The business model of pursuing maximum profit with no regard for the impact of our business on others is obsolete. If we value our planet, we have no choice but to think holistically. We must balance our pursuit of profit with a proactive contribution to making the planet a better place. Adam Smiths world was a much simpler, somewhat protected world. Our world is complex, interconnected and vulnerable. If we intend only our own gain, we will be led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. With men like Osama Bin Laden at large, that end will not be pretty. Terrorism finds a fertile home in the minds of the disadvantaged. If Adam Smith were alive today, Im sure he would observe baker, butcher and brewer have no choice but to think beyond themselves and consider the benevolence of all people and how they might share their wealth to feed the worlds poor. Click the link below to request a free white paper entitled Strategic Customer Relationships and the Secret to Profitable Growth.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:39:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015