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Something interesting in Graeber’s history is the connection between medieval Islamic philosophy and modern capitalism. The fact that Adam Smith lifts some exam
by blululu 6y ago
Something interesting in Graeber’s history is the connection between medieval Islamic philosophy and modern capitalism.
The fact that Adam Smith lifts some examples and arguments straight out of Al Ghazali has potentially significant implications for a history of economic thought.
- chalst 6y agoIndeed, but a little care is needed: the key Islamic philosophers had a higher profile in educated thought from the Renaissance to the beginning of the Enlightenment, so the simple fact of Smith citing Al-Ghazali is less significant in itself than it might at first appear. Smith was a friend of Hume, who was particularly influenced by Al-Ghazali.
- QuesnayJr 6y agoPeople like heroic narratives in intellectual history, but very little of what's in Adam Smith is new and unique to Smith. I picked my username semi-jokingly to draw attention to Francois Quesnay, who was a significant predecessor to Smith. But Quesnay isn't even unique -- you can point to any number of competitors. This is well-understood by actual historians of economic thought. The significance of Smith is that he's where everybody learned these ideas from, not because the ideas are necessarily new with him. "Wealth of Nations" as much of an act of synthesis as it is an act of creation.