Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Charity: In economics, charity refers to the voluntary transfer of resources—such as money, goods, or services—from individuals or organizations to those in need, without expectation of return. It plays a role in addressing market failures, reducing inequality, and supporting welfare outside of government intervention. See also Welfare state, Market failure._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Adam Smith on Charity - Dictionary of Arguments
Otteson I 20 Charity/Adam Smith/Otteson: Beneficence includes for Smith things like charity, generosity, and friendship, things that inspire gratitude in the beneficiaries of our actions. To fulfill our beneficent obligations - and we do indeed have duties of beneficence, according to Smith - we must take positive action to improve others' situations. Parents have duties of beneficence to their children, for example, friends have duties to one another; and so on. >Duties. Cost: To count as beneficence, however, and not mere benevolence (the latter means "wishing another well," but the former means "benefitting another"), an action must not only actually improve another's situation but also must come at some cost to us - it must cost us something in money, time, or other resources. But Smith issues some qualifications regarding beneficence. (1) First, he says that "Beneficence is always free, it cannot be extorted by force" (TMS(1): 78). Why? One, "the mere want of beneficence tends to do no real positive evil" (TMS(1): 78). If I do not do a good turn for you, even if you hoped or expected I would, I do not make you worse off: I simply leave you as you were. Smith argues that force may be used only to prevent or correct actual injury. By contrast, if l act unjustly toward you, I do in fact make you worse off. (2) And two, real beneficence is actually surprisingly diffcult. It is often very hard to know what would constitute genuine help for another person. Otteson I 21 (…) beneficence "cannot be extorted by force": we get no moral credit for helping another if we are forced to do so. For something to count as a moral action, it must be freely chosen. "What friendship, what generosity, what charity, would prompt us to do with universal approbation, is still more free, and can still less be extorted by force than the duties of gratitude" (TMS(1): 79). Whatever else is the case, for an action to count as moral - and hence to qualify as either virtuous or vicious - one must have had the opportunity to choose otherwise. >Morality/Adam Smith, >Community/Adam Smith. Rules: Smith calls the rules of justice "sacred," which may seem an oddly strong word for an account claiming that moral virtues arise on the basis of experience and interactions among individuals. Why would he call justice "sacred"? Justice: The answer is that Smith believes that the rules of justice turn out to be necessary for any society to exist. Cf. >Justice/Adam Smith. He calls them "the foundation which supports the building" that is society, whereas he calls beneficence "the ornament which embellishes" society (TMS(1): 86). A society filled with people who fulfill the rules of justice perfectly - who, that is, never harm others in their persons, property, or promises - but who do not engage in beneficent action toward one another may not be the most inviting society in which to live. But it can survive. 1. Smith, Adam (1982) [1759]. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. D. D. Raphael and A. L. Macfie, eds. Liberty Fund._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
EconSmith I Adam Smith The Theory of Moral Sentiments London 2010 EconSmithV I Vernon L. Smith Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms Cambridge 2009 Otteson I James R. Otteson The Essential Adam Smith Vancouver: Fraser Institute. 2018 |
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