num_pages: 298
description: Pierre Force studies the history of the concept of self-interest to understand its meaning by the time that Adam Smith used it as an axiom in The Wealth of Nations. He demonstrates that Smith, unlike many of his predecessors and contemporaries, never endorsed the idea that self-interest is the motivation behind all human action, although the "selfish hypothesis" did have a place in his doctrine. This book provides insight on classic puzzles of economic theory and is a major work from an outstanding scholar.
language: English
title: Self-Interest before Adam Smith: A Genealogy of Economic Science
titlecomplete: Self-Interest before Adam Smith: A Genealogy of Economic Science (Ideas in Context, Series Number 68)
genres: Economics, Philosophy, History, Politics
ratings_count: 6
series: Ideas in Context
publisher: Cambridge University Press