How do we form the ideal community then?
What brings about the implied SOCIAL CONTACT?WHY does Man form
communities?
Not the LEVIATHAN
Not the SOCIAL CONSCIENCE
But SELF-INTEREST
Greed is Good!
Self-interest is Mans greatest strength
HOW does man form communities?
Through the
1. FREE MARKET:
all societies are organized around a MARKET
What is a MARKET?
A place, organization, or arrangement which brings buyers and sellers together.
A place where individuals gather to COMPETE
in maximizing each others material greed
in order to maximize their own SELF-INTEREST
2. COMPETITION
Man responds to MATERIAL success of failure
not INTENT!
Man was made for ACTION!!
3. SELF-INTEREST
NATURES DECEPTION:
Mans eyes are always bigger than his head.
Man can never be satisfied by the material things he seeks
Material stuff can never be intrinsically satisfying
and we all have the equal capacity to be happy
two men sitting beside the road in the sun: one rich, one poor
Who is happier?
BUT man has a disposition to admire, almost worship the rich and
powerful.
GREED leads to ENVY leads to EXERTION, SPECIALIZATION, INNOVATION
and INTERDEPENDENCE
Not Violence and War (Hobbes)
Nor a Static Pastoral Society (Rousseau)
Rather a DYNAMIC, PROGRESSIVE, PEACEFUL community
of INTERDEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS
A Group of Individuals gathering to peacefully exchange material goods
and services.
A GROUP of INDIVIDUALS = A COMMUNITY
Does man therefore need
4. ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT
NO!!
There is no need for a King or an elected government at all.
it is in everyones interest to look out for the good of the communal marketplace!
Anarchy is just fine! Our Natural Rights: LIFE, LIBERTY and PROPERTY
are respected by others in a state of Nature out of Material Self-interest
Particularly the Right to
5. PRIVATE PROPERTY
If we want to obtain the most satisfaction , the maximum UTILITY
we must allow others to use their resource as they see fit
And we will do this because
we know that they will make something from it that We WANT!
Basically, if two people decide to trade objects,
then it is logical to believe that each values the other object more than he values the
one he has
therefore BOTH GAIN FROM the TRADE or EXCHANGE!!
We CHOOSE to respect each other in order to get what we want!
6. FREEDOM OF CHOICE
The good of the COMMUNITY must fundamentally rely on
INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE AND RESPONSIBILITY
In contrast to Hobbes: FEAR conquers AMBITION through FORCE
or Rousseau: REASON conquers INSTINCT through RESPECT
Smith believes: GREED harnesses REASON through ENVY
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