Book contents
- Interpreting Adam Smith
- Interpreting Adam Smith
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations of Works by Adam Smith
- Introduction
- 1 Smith Scholarship
- 2 The Wealth of Nations as a Work of Social Science
- 3 Adam Smith’s “Industrial Organization” of Religion
- 4 Talking to My Butcher
- 5 What Did Adam Smith Mean? The Semantics of the Opening Key Principles in the Wealth of Nations
- 6 Adam Smith and Virtuous Business
- 7 Adam Smith and the Morality of Political Economy
- 8 A Moral Philosophy for Commercial Society?
- 9 Adam Smith, Sufficientarian
- 10 Narrowing the Scope of Resentment in Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments
- 11 Adam Smith
- 12 “Much Better Instructors”
- 13 Sophie de Grouchy as an Activist Interpreter of Adam Smith
- 14 Adam Smith and the Limits of Philosophy
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Adam Smith’s “Industrial Organization” of Religion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 September 2023
- Interpreting Adam Smith
- Interpreting Adam Smith
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations of Works by Adam Smith
- Introduction
- 1 Smith Scholarship
- 2 The Wealth of Nations as a Work of Social Science
- 3 Adam Smith’s “Industrial Organization” of Religion
- 4 Talking to My Butcher
- 5 What Did Adam Smith Mean? The Semantics of the Opening Key Principles in the Wealth of Nations
- 6 Adam Smith and Virtuous Business
- 7 Adam Smith and the Morality of Political Economy
- 8 A Moral Philosophy for Commercial Society?
- 9 Adam Smith, Sufficientarian
- 10 Narrowing the Scope of Resentment in Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments
- 11 Adam Smith
- 12 “Much Better Instructors”
- 13 Sophie de Grouchy as an Activist Interpreter of Adam Smith
- 14 Adam Smith and the Limits of Philosophy
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Adam Smith argued that, as the monopoly provider of religious services, the medieval Church represented a formidable impediment to economic development. How did the Church maintain its monopoly; and how did that monopoly break down in the Reformation? Further, given that the secular lords had a substantial comparative advantage in violence relative to the Church, how did the Church maintain its power? In addressing these questions, Smith developed a rich and systematic approach to the incentives, institutions, and competition surrounding the medieval Church.
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- Interpreting Adam SmithCritical Essays, pp. 39 - 61Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023