"Beyond Economics: Intersections and Opportunities with Adam Smith in the Writing and Rhetoric Classroom"

About the Author

Lara Smith-Sitton is a Rhetoric and Composition PhD student at Georgia State University. Her primary research interests are writing program design, 18th- & 19th-century rhetoric, service learning, and business & technical writing. She also serves as Associate Director of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association and Managing Editor of South Atlantic Review.

Contents

Introduction
   

Building a Bridge...

Making The Introduction

Keeping Smith Relevant

Uncover the Truth

Close Analysis and...

Moving from Historical...

Works Cited

Introduction

He is not a citizen who is not disposed to respect the laws and to obey the civil magistrate; and he is certainly not a good citizen who does not wish to promote, by every means in his power, the welfare of the whole society of his fellow-citizens.

-Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

When the institutions or public works which are beneficial to the whole society, either cannot be maintained altogether, or are not maintained altogether by the contribution of such particular members of the society as are most immediately benefitted by them, the deficiency must in most cases be made up by the general contribution of the whole society.

-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations

In 1776, Adam Smith, a Scottish professor of moral philosophy and logic, published An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (more commonly referred to as Wealth of Nations). This lengthy text (some editions in excess of 1,200 pages), which asserts principles of a free-market economic system, found its way across the Atlantic Ocean and into the personal libraries of some of America’s most significant founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. The theories contained therein contributed to the establishment of our country’s economic structure, and Smith was anointed with the patriarchal title, “the father of capitalism” (Krueger xxii). Though over two hundred years have passed since the first printing of Wealth of Nations, business schools, economics programs, fiscal conservatives, right-wing politicians, and political pundits still refer to sections to support an agenda promoting deregulation, free enterprise, and limited federal funding for social programs, including, specifically, a national health care system.

However, Adam Smith also wrote another book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which he intended to be read alongside of Wealth of Nations. When considering the two texts together and evaluating Smith’s theories in the context of the 18th-century marketplace, many of the contemporary capitalist theories attributed to Smith from Wealth of Nations are often misstated and the broader intent of his work misunderstood. G. R. Bussiry and Marc Jones offer: “Smith’s concerns were primarily ethical, and the economic system he devised was the means to achieve a more moral, ethical, and just social order—not just an end in itself, as is so often implicit in the works of contemporary proponents of capitalism” (622).  Today’s students might be surprised to learn that the ideas of capitalism that are often so casually thrown around in the mainstream media are often not Adam Smith’s philosophies. Could it be that Wealth of Nations did not give full license to individuals to pursue their own interests without government intervention? Close examination of his works confirms Smith was actually an advocate of some government regulation (see Wealth of Nations). In addition, he felt, “to feel sympathy for others and little for ourselves, that to restrain our selfish, and to indulge in benevolent, affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature . . .” (Smith, Theory 23). This may be something quite different than what students may understand about Smith. Exploring Adam Smith’s writings and rhetoric could provide a tool for not only connecting with today’s students—particularly, business students—but also teaching about writing, rhetoric, critical thinking, and close analysis.

My paper will focus on how the reconsiderations and explorations of Smith’s two best known and most published works are important not only for economists, business students, and rhetoric scholars but also offer opportunities for writing instructors seeking to connect with students in writing classrooms. My research includes an analysis of some of the commonly misunderstood sections of Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments that could be useful as classroom examples. I will also identify examples of contemporary references to Smith in the mainstream media that may prove useful for discussion and student research. In my work as a business writing and communications instructor, I have included Adam Smith in my courses and found that students enjoy considering Smith’s influence and theories in contemporary business and culture. Because students recognize the name “Adam Smith” and his book Wealth of Nations, they seem interested in the classroom discussion and open to discussing the canons of rhetoric once they understand he was more than simply the founder of capitalism. Because they see Smith as someone who shaped the US financial market, his inclusion as a part of our class makes writing and rhetoric seem relevant to students, particularly BBA students. Smith then becomes a vehicle for writing and rhetorical instruction, as well as a prompt for lively classroom discussion and writing projects.