（The "Wisdom of the State": Adam Smith on China and Tartary）

in: The American Political Science Review, vol.108.2 (May 2014), pp. 371-382.

Abstract:

Adam Smith [1723-1790] ’s engagement with China and Tartary is a central yet underappreciated element of his economic and political thought. This article reconstructs this engagement and demonstrates its broader significance, arguing that it focuses on three themes: the economic institutions that promote domestic growth in a manner that alleviates the material conditions of the poorest, the social and political conditions that minimize the dependence of the poor on the wealthy, and the ethical values and civic institutions that guarantee the existential survival of the state. This treatment is significant for three reasons: It offers useful insight into the contested issue of Smith’s conception of legitimate state action; it clarifies Smith’s vision of a commercial order that promotes human dignity; and it reveals the depth of his participation in a specific contextual debate [the 18th-century French debates on China].

p. 371: Although Smith’s engagement with China has been noted (Arrighi 2007, 57-59; Evensky 2005, 73-75, 116; Millar 2010, 728-30, 733-34; Pitts 2005, 39-40; Whelan 2009, 30, 36), it deserves more extended treatment given its significance in his thought.

footnote 3: A much more detailed historical and textual analysis than can be provided here would be necessary to assess the precise nature and full extent of Smith’s debts to several specific 18th-century sources on China and Tartary, especially those of Du Halde, de Guignes, Quesnay, and Turgot. I aim to provide such an analysis in a companion piece to the present article.