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Schumpeter’s Assessment of Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations: Why He Got It Wrong

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Ortmann

    (School of Economics, UNSW Business School, UNSW)

  • David Baranowski

    (School of Economics, UNSW Business School, UNSW)

  • Benoit Walraevens

    (School of Economics, UNSW Business School, UNSW)

Abstract

In his History of Economic Analysis, Joseph Schumpeter (Schumpeter 1954a) dismissed Adam Smith’s Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Smith 1976) in a blunt and ad hominem manner. We argue that Schumpeter’s assessment resulted from his failure to appreciate the rhetorical structure of Smith’s masterpiece, a failure largely due to Schumpeter not having access to student notes of Smith’s lectures on rhetoric that surfaced only after Schumpeter’s death.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Ortmann & David Baranowski & Benoit Walraevens, 2015. "Schumpeter’s Assessment of Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations: Why He Got It Wrong," Discussion Papers 2015-28, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    • Handle: RePEc:swe:wpaper:2015-28
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    File URL: http://research.economics.unsw.edu.au/RePEc/papers/2015-28.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas Ortmann, 2022. "The Nature and Causes of Corporate Negligence, Sham Lectures, and Ecclesiastical Indolence: Adam Smith on Joint-Stock Companies, Teachers, and Preachers," Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: Adam Smith’s System, chapter 4, pages 93-112, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Andreas Ortmann, 1997. "How to Survive in Postindustrial Environments," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(5), pages 483-501, September.
    3. Peter Hans Matthews & Andreas Ortmann, 2002. "An Austrian (Mis)Reads Adam Smith: A critique of Rothbard as intellectual historian," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 379-392.
    4. Rosen, Sherwin, 1987. "Some Economics of Teaching," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(4), pages 561-575, October.
    5. Edwin G. West, 1990. "Adam Smith and Modern Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 466.
    6. Andreas Ortmann & Benoit Walraevens, 2012. "Adam Smith, philosopher and man of the world. A review essay on Gavin Kennedy, Adam Smith: A Moral Philosopher and His Political Economy, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008," History of Economic Ideas, Fabrizio Serra Editore, Pisa - Roma, vol. 20(1), pages 185-191.
    7. Salim Rashid, 1998. "The Myth of Adam Smith," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1200.
    8. Jean-Louis Peaucelle, 2012. "Rhetoric and logic in Smith's Description of the Division of Labor," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 385-408, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andreas Ortmann & Benoit Walraevens, 2015. "The Rhetorical Structure of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (and the importance of acknowledging it)," Discussion Papers 2014-11A, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    2. Andreas Ortmann & Benoit Walraevens, 2014. "The Rhetorical Structure of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (and the importance of acknowledging it)," Discussion Papers 2014-11, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Adam Smith; The Wealth of Nations; rhetoric; rhetorical structure of The Wealth of Nations; Schumpeter ; History of Economic Analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B10 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - General
    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games

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