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THE MACHINE IN ADAM SMITH’S ECONOMIC AND WIDER THOUGHT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2012

TONY ASPROMOURGOS
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Abstract

This paper exhaustively examines all Adam Smith’s references to “machines,” including machine metaphors or analogies, with a view to a comprehensive interpretation of the significance of the machine in his thought as a whole. By bringing together all Smith’s references to machines (and variants of that term), as well as his references to related phenomena, mechanics and engines (and variants), the totality of the various different kinds of uses of these terms assists in clarifying the meaning of each of them. However, this exercise is undertaken particularly with a view to the significance of machines in Smith’s political economy.

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Articles
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Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 475 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2012

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