“Das Adam Smith Problem” Reconsidered: Focusing on the Contemporary Critiques of Thomas Hobbes’s System of Moral Philosophy

This paper reconsiders the “Adam Smith Problem,” one of the key topics in Adam Smith scholarship concerning the relationship between his two major works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. This problem examines the apparent contradiction between Smith’s emphasis on sympathy and benevolence in The Theory of Moral Sentiments as parts of human nature and his acknowledgment of the positive social effects of self-interest and egoism in The Wealth of Nations. Initially raised in mid- 19th century Germany, discussions surrounding this problem have primarily focused on the logical consistency between the two texts. This paper, however, takes a more historical perspective, examining Smith’s original intention in composing both works as integral parts of his system of moral philosophy. In other words, it reframes the “Adam Smith Problem” into an inquiry about what the “Adam Smith’s Problem” was, arguing that Smith’s ultimate goal was to propose an alternative to the moral philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, which he deemed “so odious.” This papar contends that one of the main purpose of Smith’s theory of individual-social relationship elaborated in The Theory of Moral Sentiments was to rebut Hobbes’s social contract theory, and his endorsement of commercial society in The Wealth of Nations, based on his own preceding moral framework, was to present a more practical and realistic social theory than Hobbes’s. In this regards, Smith’s two works can be understood as different parts of the cohesive social theory.