研究生英语-unit-1-Adam-Smith

1、Adam SmithRight and WrongM.E. Sharpe Adam Smith (16 June 1723 17 July 1790 ) A Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, The author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of

2、 Nations. Portrait of Smith by John Kay, 1790 The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. It earned him an enormous reputation and would become one of the most influential works on economics ever published. Smith is widely cited as the father of moder

3、n economics and capitalism.The first page of The Wealth of Nations, 1776 London edition Wealth of Nations offers many insights other theories disagree. It argues that agriculture offers fewer possibilities to a division of labor, raising its prices compared with industry. To Smith, the genius and th

4、e natural talents of men are no natural dispositions which have to be paid for according to comparative advantages. It is not upon many occasions so much the cause, as the effect of the division of labor. Competition should reduce the prices of these talents. Smith suspects manufacturers of mischief

5、 and trusts landowners and laborers as consumers to represent the common good. Smith studied social philosophy at the University of Glasgow and the University of Oxford. After graduating, he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teac

6、hing moral philosophy, and during this time he wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring position that allowed him to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Smith then returned home and spent the next ten years wr

7、iting The Wealth of Nations, publishing it in 1776. He died in 1790 at the age of 67.A 19th-century building near the house where Adam Smith lived, 1767-1776. 220 High Street, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. At this location, Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, according to a plaque on the pictured buildi

8、ng. The original house was torn down in 1834 This 20 note was issued by the Bank of England and features Smith (A statue of Smith in Edinburghs High Street, built through private donations organized by the Adam Smith Institute) It was a period from the 18th - 19th century where major changes in agri

9、culture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the United Kingdom, then spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the world. It marks a major turning point in

10、history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented growth. In the two centuries following 1800, the worlds average per capita income increased over tenfold, while the worlds population increased over sixfo

11、ld.The First Industrial Revolution merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around 1850, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generati

12、on. Regional GDP per capita changed very little for most of human history before the Industrial Revolution. (The empty areas mean no data, not very low levels. There is data for the years 1, 1000, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1820, 1900, and 2003 A Watt steam engine, the steam engine fuelled primarily by coal

13、that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and the world. Textile mill workers. Spinning machinery. Macon, Georgia, 1909Bethlehem Steel, founded in 1857, was once the second-largest manufacturer of steel in the United States The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age

14、 of Reason) was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe, that sought to mobilize the power of reason, in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted science and intellectual interchange and opposed superstition, intolerance and abuses in church and state. Or

15、iginating about 16501700, it was sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza , John Locke , Pierre Bayle , mathematician Isaac Newton , and historian Voltaire . One leader of the Scottish Enlightenment was Adam Smith, the father of modern economic science The wide distribution of the printing press inven

16、ted in Europe in 1440, made possible the rapid distribution of knowledge and ideas which precipitated the Enlightenment. Ruling princes often endorsed and fostered figures and even attempted to apply their ideas of government in what was known as Enlightened Despotism. The Enlightenment flourished u

17、ntil about 17901800, after which the emphasis on reason gave way to Romanticisms emphasis on emotion and a Counter-Enlightenment gained force.Organization of the essayPart I: Para. 1-9Part II: Para 10-22 Part I: Para. 1-9 Mr. Mullers book is an exercise in historical excavation. Q1.According to the

18、para.1, why is the author doubtful about Mullers claim that “Smith is still the most cogent defender of capitalism? Because too much has changed in the last 200 years. Q2.Para.2-4 describe how a man learns to live with others. What are the procedures? Born with the need for the approval of others Le

19、arn to mold ones behavior Internalize social norms Q3.According to para.5, what is the special feature of the group of men and women who are influenced by exceptional endowments or circumstance ? They can guide their actions by standards they consider good. Q4.What is the relationship between reason

20、 and passion according to Adam Smith ? Passions rule and reason can support passion. Q5.How does morality come into being? People take pleasure in the company of others and language enables them to communicate, in the process of which morality can pass. Q6.Did Smith realize it? How do you know? Yes

21、, judging from his comment. Q7.According to para.9, how can we account for the relationships among people in the market? They may be friendly, but their interests are opposed.Paraphrase : 1.Too much has changed in the last 200 years for that to be the case. He-Muller-must be absolved from responsibi

22、lity for the opinions expressed here . A lot has changed in the past 200 years. Smith cannot still be the most powerful defender of capitalism. Muller is not to be responsible for the opinions expressed in this article. 2.Why do innately self-seeking humans usually act decently to one another? Human

23、s are selfish by nature, but why do they behave appropriately towards each other? 3.Smith observed that each normal person is born with the capacity to imagine how it feels to be in someone else s place. Smith observed that each normal person is born with the ability of being considerate toward othe

24、rs. 4.A normal child learns to mold his behavior in a way that will win recognition and approval and avoid scorn and disapproval. A normal child learns to behave in a way so as to be accepted by others . 5.Our credulity is strained to think that the fear of punishment explains it all. The question i

25、s nothing less than the origin of morality. It is impossible that the society could be held together by peoples fear of punishment. else every place would have been policed at that time. 6.In the course of this tutelage, a human being internalizes social norms develops a conscience-an impartial obse

26、rver- which is able to measure the behavior of the person observing himself and the behavior of others by the same standards. During this kind of teaching about how to behave oneself, a person accepts this way of thinking and makes it a natural part of his character. A person also develops conscienc

27、e, which is a fair observer and can measure the behavior of the person and that of others by the same standard. 7.As man of the Enlightenment who placed hope in the power of reason to sweep unreason before it, Smith looked to this small party to gain the attention of statesmen and in due time en lig

28、hten them. Smith , Man of the Enlightenment, believed the power of reason could remove unreason and hoped this small group of people could draw the attention of VIPs and would enable them to understand it in time. 8.Yet it was necessary for reason to discover and support the institutions that direct

29、ed the passions to universally beneficial ends to be said about this as long as we keep clearly in mind whether the subject is the invisible hand or the visible hand. So long as we are sure of whether the subject is the invisible or visible hand, we should use reason to support the traditions that d

30、irected the passions to good purposes. 9.The history of social institutions, a subject on which Smith wrote with erudition, shows that exclusion or inclusion of those for whom we feel moral sentiments is not fixed once and for all but depends on how we define “us and them”. Nothing in Darwin contrad

31、icts Smith. The history of social traditions and laws is a subject on which smith write with his profound knowledge . It indicates that whether we include or exclude those we give moral thoughts to is not fixed irreversibly but depends on the definitions we give “us and them”. 10.But the single-mind

32、ed pursuit of self-interest nevertheless results in the general good, as we all know, because free competition forces prices to the lowest level compatible with the costs of land, labor, and capital. But he pursuit of interest will lead to the good result, because free competition will force the pri

33、ces to go down to the level correspondent with the cost of labor, land and capital. 11.Smith knew moral sentiments cannot survive the effects of alienation. Smith believed under the impact of alienation morality can no longer exist. Part II: Para 10-22 Main idea: Adam smith is both right and wrong.

34、He was right about the power of moral sentiments and effectiveness of the free market. He was wrong in that he could not predict what would happen in the next 200 years. Q1.What is the result of the growth of the market? Increasing division of labor More specialization Greater productivity Q2.Para.1

35、1 tells us that Smith is neither a friend of business nor a friend of workers, why? He scores the practice of merchants. He also dislike the demand of workers to raise wages. Q3.In which field will the state spend money and energy? Defense Public works Enforcement of law Public education Creating a

36、structure to protect every member of society from the oppression by any other member. Q4.How does it spend them? Promoting the prosperity of the commonwealth Establishing good discipline Discouraging every sort of vice and impropriety Prescribing rules. Q5.According to para.13-14, what is Smiths att

37、itude towards government? He had no illusions. Q6.According to para.13-14, what is Smiths attitude towards a self-regulating universe? He was dazzled by it. Q7.Where was Smith right? He was right about the power of moral sentiments, right and effectiveness of the free market. Q8.Where was Smith wron

38、g?He was wrong in that he could not predict what would happen in the next 200 years. Q9.What are the main characteristics of capitalism depicted by the author? What is the solution to the fundamental problem of capitalism proposed by the author? The main characteristics of capitalism depicted by the

39、 author is conflicting interests. Compromise is the solution to the fundamental problem of capitalism proposed by the author. Q10.What are the special features of a possible capitalism described by the author? Concurrence in minimum standards of life for all and concern for the common good. Q11.Acco

40、rding to para.21, what is the greatest unforeseen and unintended consequence of Adam Smiths doctrine? Its use as an ideology of the privileged. Q12.What can we learn from the last paragraph? Smith might disagree with some of his present day admirers. Q13.What is the “invisible hand” mentioned by the

41、 author? Moral sentiment. Paraphrase : 1.The mercantilists, against whom Smith polemicized, believed that the wealth of nations depended on the accumulation of gold and silver obtained by countries which export more than they import, a result enhanced by monopolies in trade bestowed by the state. Th

42、e mercantilists who would argue with Smith believed that the wealth of nations depended on the gold and silver they accumulated through export. The result would be even better if the state controlled the trade. 2.He could know nothing lf the inventions that brought about the Industrial Revolution, t

43、he huge concentrations of business, the emergence of trade unions, the periodic waves of unemployment, and the “bads” produced along with the “goods”, externalities as Arthur Pigou called them, the costs of which had to be paid by somebody. Smith could not predict what the Industrial Revolution woul

44、d bring about. 3.With all these exacerbating tensions of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was too much to expect that lawmakers, prime ministers, and presidents could understand, much less agree on, how to contain this explosive mixture. As a result of all these intensifying tensions of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was unreasonable to think that lawmakers, prime ministers and presidents could unde