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Endnotes
- He grounded his the case in a previous publication, The Moral Sentiments (1759)
- “As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither indents to promote the public interest, nor he knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring to support of domestic to that of foreign industry, 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. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it”. (WN, p. 423)
- For more information about this, see the chapter on Competition Vs Collaboration (citar bien)
- Industrial capitalists, up until the middle of the nineteenth century, were directly involved in the production process in their incessant pursuit of expanding profits as a purpose in itself. The labour theory of value contributed to the understanding of the source of profit as well as the source of incomes for the merchant and the landlord classes. As a result, the labour theory of value was the product of, and at the same time contributed to, the intellectual atmosphere for about a century. However, the growth of corporations and the subsequent concentration and centralization of capital that took place during the depression of 1873–1896 changed the structure of the economy as well as the role of the capitalist. The capitalist’s direct involvement in the production process and other related activities was limited and the management of the newly created large-scale enterprises was transferred to a small group of owners or professionals. As a consequence, the capitalist class wastransformed, to a great extent, into a mere recipient of profit incomes by virtue of property rights in a way similar to that of landlords. Naturally, under these new conditions, it became clear that profit income could not find justification in a labour content explanation of equilibrium prices, other than some form of exploitation of labour.
- Our project contains an entire chapter on feminist economicd so we strongly recommend you check it for further information on these theories.
- Access: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_712234/lang–en/index.htmAnd https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS
