IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/revpoe/v23y2011i1p95-110.html

The Concept of Abstract Labour in Adam Smith's System of Thought

Author

Listed:
  • Eric Rahim

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Rahim, 2011. "The Concept of Abstract Labour in Adam Smith's System of Thought," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 95-110.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:23:y:2011:i:1:p:95-110
    DOI: 10.1080/09538259.2011.526296
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09538259.2011.526296
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09538259.2011.526296?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Young, Allyn A., 1928. "Increasing Returns and Economic Progress," History of Economic Thought Articles, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, vol. 38, pages 527-542.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:edn:sirdps:409 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Eric Rahim, 2012. "Marx: From Hegel and Feuerbach to Adam Smith," Working Papers 1206, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John A. Mathews, 2020. "Schumpeterian economic dynamics of greening: propagation of green eco-platforms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 929-948, September.
    2. Catherine Baumont, 1995. "Urban economics and endogenous dynamics in regional growth [Economies d'agglomération et dynamique endogène de croissance des régions]," Working Papers hal-01527237, HAL.
    3. Wilson, E.J. & Chaudhri, D.P., 2000. "Endogeneity, Knowledge and Dynamics of Long Run Capitalist Economic Growth," Economics Working Papers wp00-03, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    4. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2006. "Better Rules or Stronger Communities? On the Social Foundations of Institutional Change and Its Economic Effects," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(1), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Bert Minne & Marc van der Steeg & Dinand Webbink, 2008. "Skill gaps in the EU: role for education and training policies," CPB Document 162, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    6. Yang, X. & Liu, P.W., 1999. "Division of Labor Transaction Cost, Emergence of the Firm and Firm Size," Papers 10, Chicago - Graduate School of Business.
    7. John Finch, 2000. "Is post-Marshallian economics an evolutionary research tradition?," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 377-406.
    8. Andre Lorentz & Tommaso Ciarli & Maria Savona & Marco Valente, 2019. "Structural Transformations and Cumulative Causation: Towards an Evolutionary Micro-foundation of the Kaldorian Growth Model," Working Papers of BETA 2019-15, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    9. Matteo Lucchese, 2011. "Innovation, demand and structural change in Europe," Working Papers 1109, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2011.
    10. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:2:y:2002:i:1:p:1-15 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Balakrishnan, Pulapre & Das, Mausumi & Parameswaran, M., 2017. "The internal dynamic of Indian economic growth," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 46-61.
    12. Araujo, Ricardo Azevedo, 2013. "Cumulative causation in a structural economic dynamic approach to economic growth and uneven development," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 130-140.
    13. Yichi Zhang & Yingen Hu & Min Wang & Hongyu Luo, 2025. "Does the “Three Rights Separation” System Improve the Economic Efficiency of Rural Residential Land Use?—Evidence from Yujiang and Deqing, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, August.
    14. Ellis, Paul D., 2007. "Paths to foreign markets: Does distance to market affect firm internationalisation?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 573-593, October.
    15. Young Lee & Jeong Hun Oh & Hwan-Joo Seo, 2002. "Digital Divide and Growth Gap: A Cumulative Relationship," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-88, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Liang Chi & Mengshuai Zhu & Chen Shen & Jing Zhang & Liwei Xing & Xiangyang Zhou, 2023. "Does the Winner Take All in E-Commerce of Agricultural Products under the Background of Platform Monopoly?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    17. Andrea Maneschi, 2000. "How New is the "New Trade Theory" of the Past Two Decades?," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0027, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    18. Ostroy, Joseph M & Zame, William R, 1994. "Nonatomic Economies and the Boundaries of Perfect Competition," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(3), pages 593-633, May.
    19. Per L. Bylund, 2015. "Signifying Williamson's Contribution to the Transaction Cost Approach: An Agent-Based Simulation of Coasean Transaction Costs and Specialization," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 148-174, January.
    20. repec:dgr:rugccs:200301 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Nishi, Hiroshi & Stockhammer, Engelbert, 2020. "Distribution shocks in a Kaleckian model with hysteresis and monetary policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 465-479.
    22. J. Barkley Rosser & Marina V. Rosser, 2017. "Complexity and institutional evolution," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 415-430, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:23:y:2011:i:1:p:95-110. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CRPE20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.