On the Free Market we trust
Smith is believed to be the first person to discover and point out that there is a magical force in the operation of the world, which seems to be able to coordinate the forces of all parties miraculously. Smith called it the “invisible hand.”
Author: GUDORDI | 2022-11-30
Perhaps Hong Kong people can also regard trust in the power of the free market as a belief. (Asian News Agency)
Continuing from the previous article: “It’s up to people to plan things, and it’s up to God to succeed – the legendary future of Hong Kong”
We place our trust in the free market.
In the free market we trust.
Personally speaking, they generally have no intention of benefiting the public, and they have no idea how much they have contributed in this regard. Their focus is only on their own happiness and interests, but in the process of pursuing their own welfare and thinking that their efforts will bring the greatest benefits, they will actually be led by the invisible hand to promote things that they never intended. Picture what you want to achieve. This is actually just one case that shows the power of the invisible hand.
Every individual…neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it… he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the 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.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments is a more important work
The above sentence comes from the book ” The Theory of Moral Sentiments” published by Adam Smith in 1759 . Many people think that Smith’s famous “invisible hand” concept originated from “The Wealth of Nations” published in 1776, but in fact, in “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” published 17 years earlier than “The Wealth of Nations”, Smith had already proposed The concept of “invisible hand”. It is worth noting that although most people’s understanding of Smith comes from “The Wealth of Nations”, Smith himself has always believed that “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” is a more important work. Smith’s epitaph reads: “Adam Smith: Author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations.” He put The Theory of Moral Sentiments first.
It is worth noting that Smith was born as a moral philosopher. He is most concerned about the nature of human nature, the origin of compassion, the nature of society, the relationship between society and individual behavior, and what is virtue. and other more abstract and high-level questions. For him, worldly things are believed to be less important. According to records, one of Smith’s motivations for writing “The Wealth of Nations” was that the Mercantilists at the time were somewhat critical of his stance and views on taxation, the role of government, etc., so he decided to write a book to clarify his views. positions and viewpoints, and point out the fallacies of the mercantilists.
From this point of view, Smith may not have really intended to write a masterpiece that will be handed down for generations. However, because of his extremely serious academic attitude and his meticulous observation of world affairs, he invisibly demonstrated amazing skills when dealing with economic operation issues. Observation and analytical skills. In the process of writing, he may continue to improve the level and depth of his work, from some specific secular issues to the essence of the road to national prosperity, because the full name of “The Wealth of Nations” is “An Essay on the Essence of National Wealth” An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations .
In any case, after the publication of “The Wealth of Nations”, Smith and the mercantilists had different opinions. The views of the mercantilists became nothing worth discussing, and “The Wealth of Nations” became a masterpiece. , and created the disciplines of economics and political economy. These developments may not have been Smith’s original intention, nor what he had expected.
“An exploration into the nature and origin of national wealth” book and video. (Amazon image)
Smith's ideas are still not fully understood
In any case, after writing “The Wealth of Nations”, Smith should have a deeper understanding of worldly affairs, and then focused his energy on revising “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”, which shows how much he valued this work. In the author’s opinion, although not many people seem to know “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”, it is actually another epoch-making masterpiece. Over the past 200 years, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” has received far less attention than “The Wealth of Nations”. But in the future, The Theory of Moral Sentiments may catch up.
In the author’s opinion, the above two books are masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. Although Smith is widely recognized as a great thinker, there may still be much in the depth and importance of his ideas that have not yet been fully understood and appreciated by future generations. Take the sentence at the beginning of this article as an example. After careful consideration, it can be revealed that at least three important implications are revealed. They also have certain implications for the mentality and strategies that Hong Kong should adopt when dealing with the future.
In God we Trust
In the author’s opinion, the important implication of the first sentence of this article is that the nature of social phenomena is beyond what individuals can take into account. From this perspective, Popper’s views mentioned above actually have many shadows of Smith. In other words, social phenomena are the unintended consequences of countless intentional individual actions, which is also consistent with the concept of natural order (spontaneous order) in Western philosophy. Another important implication of the first sentence of this article is that distinguishing intention and effect are two different things. The development of worldly affairs has its own logic, which may not necessarily have anything to do with intentions.
This also extends to the most important implication of the opening sentence, which is the concept of the free market. To paraphrase Popper’s words, if we carefully track how individual behavior eventually develops into social effects, we may find that there are certain patterns and a certain context to be found. If so, what is this power? Smith is believed to be the first person to discover and point out that there is a magical force in the operation of the world, which seems to be able to coordinate the forces of all parties miraculously. Smith called it the “invisible hand.” Importantly, if we read the two works “The Wealth of Nations” and “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” together, we should understand that the invisible hand and market forces that Smith refers to are not limited to economic activities, but almost Refers to all human behavior in general.
The words “In God we trust” are written on U.S. banknotes. This is implicitly the belief and motto of the United States, and in human society, beliefs and beliefs are very important. Perhaps Hong Kong people can also regard trust in the power of the free market as a belief. Next time, I will talk about the importance of trust in free market forces.
“Hong Kong’s Legendary Future” Series 11
Contact the author: Gudordi@proton.me
