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Cambridge Journal of Economics 2005 29(1):57-71; doi:10.1093/cje/bei014
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Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 29, No. 1, © Cambridge Political Economy Society 2005; all rights reserved

An anatomy of authority: Adam Smith as political theorist

Elias L. Khalil*

Address for correspondence: Konrad Lorenz Institute, Adolf-Lorenz-Gasse 2, A-3422 Altenberg, Austria; email: eliaskhalil{at}msn.com

Authority for Smith arises ironically from the desire to attain a high station in life. Given that most people fail, they ‘free ride’: they identify their ego with high-ranking agents, through ‘vicarious sympathy’. Vicarious sympathy gives rise to status and, if combined with utility, would occasion political allegiance, the basis of political order (an invisible hand argument). Smith's theory challenges liberal political theory (of the classical type à la Locke or of the social type à la Bentham). It also challenges traditionalist political theory that deposits authority in the hands of selected guardians (from Plato to Strauss).

Key Words: Vicarious sympathy • Social contract versus political contract • Status • Rank • Nationalism

JEL classifications: B3, D7

Manuscript received October 21, 2002; final version received June 6, 2003.


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