On the Place of Politics in Commercial Society
On the Place of Politics in Commercial Society
Abstract: Istvan Hont’s book Politics in Commercial Society, the final work of one of the twentieth century’s great students of Adam Smith and the Scottish Enlightenment, presents a comparative study of the political theories of Smith and Rousseau. For students of the Smith-Rousseau relationship, it is valuable on two fronts, one methodological and one substantive. Yet the book is not the magnum opus for which some may have hoped. In light of this, the present essay has three aims: first, to call attention to the work’s most valuable substantive and methodological claims; second, to frame the book’s contributions by setting its claims in the context of recent scholarship; and third, to raise some questions regarding three of the book’s core theses.
Keywords: Adam Smith, Rousseau, Istvan Hont, commercial society, authority, justice
Edinburgh Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
