The Concept of Abstract Labour in Adam Smith's System of Thought
Abstract
This paper draws attention to the fact that in the Wealth of Nations Smith conceptualises labour as a malleable, adaptable resource, capable of undertaking whatever may be required of it as the economy evolves over time. This conception, equivalent to Marx's 'abstract labour', differs fundamentally from the neoclassical view of the labour force as comprised of individual agents, each with a given endowment of capabilities. In Smith's analysis, the flexible character of abstract labour is essential to allow the progressive extension of division of labour in the course of economic development. It is also an essential underpinning of Smith's explanation of how 'natural balance' is maintained within the economy; this implies an understanding of equilibrium values quite different from that of the later neoclassical conception. Abstract labour is furthermore a necessary element of Smith's claim that individual agents, pursuing their own ends, promote the general interest of society, understood not in terms of the attainment of an 'optimal', utility-maximising allocation of given resources, but in terms of the promotion of capital accumulation and economic development.Download Info
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal Review of Political Economy.
Volume (Year): 23 (2011)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages: 95-110
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:23:y:2011:i:1:p:95-110
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=journal&id=102233
Order Information:
Web: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/subscription.asp
For corrections or technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Michael McNulty).
Related research
Keywords:References
No references listed on IDEASYou can help add them by filling out this form.
Citations
Lists
This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Statistics
Access and download statisticsCorrections
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:23:y:2011:i:1:p:95-110For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Michael McNulty).
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.