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Adam Smith: Evolutionary Social Theorist ante litteram

Heinz D. Kurz

Homo Oeconomicus2024https://doi.org/10.1007/s41412-024-00149-2article
ABDC C
Weight
0.51

What the paper says

Abstract The paper examines evolutionary elements in Adam Smith’s social theory, connecting them to an earlier contribution to natural history by George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. It then compares Smith’s analysis with those of Karl Marx and Joseph Schumpeter, who were fascinated by Darwinian evolutionary biology. This comparison demonstrates that while developing evolutionary approaches to the social sciences suitable for their respective subject matter, Marx and Schumpeter drew heavily on Smith’s insights. All three authors aimed to unveil the forces shaping the “process of civilization”, or society’s “law of motion,” along with its associated hazards. They pondered whether this process inherently led to rising living standards, along with “equality, liberty, and justice”, and whether it could derail, ending in a tailspin.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s41412-024-00149-2

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@article{heinz2024,
  title        = {{Adam Smith: Evolutionary Social Theorist ante litteram}},
  author       = {Heinz D. Kurz},
  journal      = {Homo Oeconomicus},
  year         = {2024},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s41412-024-00149-2},
}

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Evidence weight

0.51

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.