Resumo

PIQUE, Pilar. The Notions of Simpathy and Value in Parallel. The Problem of the Small Society and the Universal Society in Adam Smith. Tópicos (México) [online]. 2018, n.55, pp.99-126. ISSN 0188-6649.  https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v0i55.918.

The present paper aims to show the existing points of contact between the development of the notion of sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the development of the notion of value in The Wealth of Nations. In each of these two works (The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations), Smith chooses the notion of sympathy and the notion of value as fundamental principles for the harmony of social behavior and the mercantile exchange system, respectively. But in both cases these principles govern only in small societies and not in the society of a universal character which was already present in the Smithian period, where the modern individual no longer has ties of affection with all members of society and, moreover, it does not know the necessary efforts to produce all the necessary goods for its daily life. This parallel exposition provides keys to understanding: a) why Smith decides to take production costs as the source of price determination; b) why Smith emphasizes in the last edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments at the end of his life that the validity of sympathy is reduced to the national level.

Palavras-chave : sympathy; moral philosophy; jurisprudence; value; political economy.

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