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Adam Smith and the Wealth-Worshipping Spectator

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  • Elazar, Yiftah

Abstract

What explains the ambition to get rich? Adam Smith is clear that commercial ambition, the passionate desire for great wealth, is not simply a desire to satisfy one’s material needs. His argument on what underlies it, however, is not obvious. I review three possibilities suggested by Smith’s work and the scholarly literature – vanity, the love of system, and the desire for tranquility – and conclude that none of them captures the underlying motive of commercial ambition. Instead, I argue that Smith understands commercial ambition as a misguided desire for excellence. Ambitious pursuers of wealth are driven by the desire to deserve and to enjoy recognition for their excellence, but their judgment of what is truly excellent is corrupted by the standards of a wealth-worshipping society. Instead of appealing to the moral standpoint of the impartial spectator, they construct in their minds and follow a corruptive moral guide: the wealth-worshipping spectator.

Suggested Citation

  • Elazar, Yiftah, 2022. "Adam Smith and the Wealth-Worshipping Spectator," OSF Preprints j5pt6_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:j5pt6_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/j5pt6_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Douglas J. Den Uyl, 2016. "Impartial Spectating and the Price Analogy," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 13(2), pages 264–272-2, May.
    2. Kleer, Richard Arlen, 1993. "Adam Smith on the Morality of the Pursuit of Fortune," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 289-295, October.
    3. Lisa Hill, 2012. "Adam Smith on thumos and irrational economic ‘man’," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Daniel Diatkine, 2010. "Vanity and the love of system in Theory of Moral Sentiments," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 383-404.
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