5 - Sen, Smith and the Cambridge Tradition

Summary

Sen considers Adam Smith an ally in the illustration of the logic of the capability approach — i.e. to be ‘able to appear in public without shame’ is a cross-cultural, cross-time capability, while the specific forms of consumption that it requires are variable. The chapter problematizes that Smith’s vision of the market and poverty is consistent with Sen’s. Sen uses that paragraph of The Wealth of Nations as an example of Smith’s general attitude towards wealth, commodities and the market, but such attitude is hard to find in Smith’s whole works. In particular, the chapter does not deny the legitimacy for Sen to quote that particular passage of Smith to show an illustrious antecedent of his capabilities approach. It claims that to have a full idea of Smith’s vision on necessities we need to consider Smith’s theory of the invisible hand, and that Smith’s general philosophy of the market is significantly different from Sen’s, as it emerges from the analysis of Smith’s general vision of commodities and luxury, and then enters into his theory of the market. Such an extension claims to contribute to a more general discussion on the connections between Sen’s and Smith’s vision of political economy.