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Adam Smith's growing concern on the issue of distributive justice

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  • Rudi Verburg

Abstract

According to the accepted view, Smith carved out distributive justice from his concept of justice and argued that distributive justice would follow in the wake of natural liberty. In recent contributions, however, it is emphasized that a system of natural liberty will only generate beneficent distributional outcomes if the rules of commutative justice safeguard natural liberty and mirror community standards of justice. In this paper it is argued that Smith increasingly came to question whether commercial society could meet this requirement. Given their subservience to sectional interests, rules of justice neither safeguard natural liberty nor conform to community standards. Moreover, the inherent strain in commercial society to corrupt man's moral sentiments erodes community standards of justice. In the development of Smith's views his growing concern for distributive justice is reflected.

Suggested Citation

  • Rudi Verburg, 2000. "Adam Smith's growing concern on the issue of distributive justice," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 23-44.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:7:y:2000:i:1:p:23-44
    DOI: 10.1080/096725600361843
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey T. Young & Barry Gordon, 1996. "Distributive Justice as a Normative Criterion in Adam Smith's Political Economy," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, Spring.
    2. Salter, John, 1994. "Adam Smith on Justice and Distribution in Commercial Societies," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 41(3), pages 299-313, August.
    3. Jerry Evensky, 1992. "Ethics and the Classical Liberal Tradition in Economics," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 61-77, Spring.
    4. Witztum, Amos, 1997. "Distributive Considerations in Smith's Conception of Economic Justice," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(2), pages 241-259, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Holler, Manfred J. & Leroch, Martin, 2010. "Efficiency and justice revisited," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 311-319, September.

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