Adam Smith
We think Adam Smith is NOT the apologist of the kind of Capitalist System many have in mind which is quite a misguided and over-simplistic conception to begin with.
Indeed, one may argue that one of the main motive behind Smith’s writing of “An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” (or the Wealth of Nations) could well be his deep concern on how practically one could “lift the poor in the world out of poverty”, as James Otteson has contested.
And we think it would be doubly more inspiring and illuminating if we can come to see the Wealth of Nations as really the sequel to The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the great messages from these two masterpieces plus Smith’s other thoughts and deeds could well be that, a human society with “universal opulence” and yet exhibiting also “virtues” , “prudence” , “justice” and “beneficence” is entirely conceivable and attainable.
In this sense, one may argue that Smith’s concerns about the poor and the working class is not any less than Karl Marx, and his passion about a more just human society may not be any less than Plato.
It is our view that the true Adam Smith is far from being understood and herein may lie one main potential contribution Hong Kong could make to Humanities, which could well help to lift Hong Kong from a city of negligible importance to one with some lasting importance to the world at large.