Adam Smith: Liberalism and practical reason

Abstract

My aim in this paper is to show that the concept of rationality that underlies Adam Smith’s Liberalism explains its technical and moral superiority over other kinds of social arrangements, for it is exactly the kind of rationality we human beings use in this sphere of life: practical reason. In particular, technical superiority or the specific justification of liberal institutions may be accounted by their open, dialogic and cooperative structure, which corrects errors and incorporates past experiences. Hence they give form, at the end of the day, to the kind of institution that better uses human knowledge in each particular field. On the other hand, the moral justification of Adam Smith’s Liberalism is based on the until recently somewhat neglected emphasis of this theory on equality or even equal human dignity, which may be inferred from its treatment of justice and the impartial spectator.