Adam Smith on process of civilization and its hazards

Abstract

This article explores the evolutionary aspect of Adam Smith’s work and his substantive conclusions regarding the civilizing process and the risks associated with it. The first section of the article represents an introduction to the problem, where research tasks are formulated. The second section contains materials indicating Smith’s familiarity with the early evolutionary concepts presented in the works of Leclerc. The third section provides an overview of the key «evolutionary» components of Smith’s study of the civilizing process. In the fourth section, the author offers a brief overview of how Smith’s concepts and principles are reflected in the analysis of Marx and Schumpeter, who were greatly influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary biology. All three authors sought to identify the forces that determine the «civilizing process» or “laws of motion” of society, as well as the risks associated with this process. They tried to understand whether such a process in itself leads to an increase in the standard of living and the accompanying «liberty, equality, and fraternity». And, conversely, whether it can serve to destroy the system, inevitably plunging it into gradual degradation. In their research, they tried to determine whether the unintended consequences of selfish human actions could lead to tyranny and human suffering. This issue is addressed in the fifth section of the article, which emphasizes that the civilizing process generates tendencies from within that threaten its continuation and may even lead to regression and degradation. In such cases, the “wisdom of the state” is urgently needed to effectively counteract such tendencies. As an example illustrating this need, Adam Smith’s political economy of war is cited. In conclusion, the author expresses the hope that Smith will be right, and that the civilizing process is in fact driven by nature’s intended desire for happiness and the perfection of the species.