As the field of artificial intelligence (AI) grows hotter, more and more people are worried about their survival:
"If one day factories will use robots, agriculture will use robots, if only a few people can do everything, people will be laid off, only those 100 million people still have jobs, and the remaining billion people will have no income."The problem is, who sells the things in the factory to, 90% of the people have no income.If we reduce the population, we must reduce production, and if we reduce production, more people will lose their jobs, and one person's production will be enough for a hundred people.”
The natural consequence of human science and technology is to generally improve people's living conditions and improve their quality of life.According to Gergen, "Knowledge of the world always carries with it the value of certain traditions, which create our problems and conclusions."(2019, p. 12) If we trace the theory and practice of modern mainstream economics, its subject structure in practice is complete from the political and economic relations of Western European society before and after the first industrial revolution.So is it Smith and his age's way of making a living, or the "tradition" of ideas and practices about living, that has led to the existential predicament facing modern people?Here, an attempt is made to re-understand the economy of society from a scientific perspective, starting with Smith's system of thought, including ethics and political economy.
The article is divided into four parts.The first part is an introduction to real problems, the second part is aimed at combing Smith's basic idea of individual-social, the third part discusses the scientific problem of income distribution practice.
Adam Smith's Individual-Social Principles
Smith's thought system about the individual and society is presented through two works: Moral Sentiment Theory and National Wealth Theory.The former discusses the individual virtues of interpersonal interaction and runs through the idea of a "good society" with grand mutual aid (Smith, 2016, p. 107), while the latter attempts to examine concrete ways in which a self-conscious mutual aid society can be realized.In Smith's view, the political-economic system is a concrete form of practice from the individual-social principle.Therefore, the basic consideration of the individual-social relationship is first and foremost, such as: why should the individual exist in society?Why does society exist?As a social node, how do individuals interact with each other?
Causes of Social Existence: Mutual Assistance and Co-existence
Survival and development are the subject of human life, and Esmie says that nature's ingenious arrangement of life on Earth aims to "promote the two great purposes of nature, namely, to sustain the survival and reproduction of individuals" (2015, p.However, Earth's predetermined natural habitat is highly dangerous and it is difficult for individuals to survive in such habitats on their own (Smith, 2011a; Holbach, 1994).Therefore, Smith says, "Man must exist in society" because "all members of human society are in a state of need of mutual help" (2016, p. 107), and then people unite to try to co-exist in mutual help (Smith, 2011a; Holbach, 1994).In other words, from the perspective of survival alone, society (including the family) is a relational platform for people to seek mutual aid and symbiosis to better meet their own interests.
Therefore, Smith argues from both positive and negative perspectives in his book Moral Sentiments that mutual goodwill and good deeds are the reasons for the existence of society."Society cannot exist among those who are always hurting and hurting each other, and every time that harm begins, every time there is resentment and hostility between them, all social bonds are torn off," he said.That is, if people are always hurting each other and "fraudulent", then "society is difficult to exist and develop" (2016, p. 107).On the contrary, if "members of society are united in love and help each other" and "coexist in harmony" (2016, p. 107), then "society thrives and is pleasant" as if "a public center of good works for each other" (2015, p. 108), very "beautiful" (2016, p. 107).
In conclusion, according to Smith (2011a, 2015, 2016), there is no better option for individuals than to co-exist with their counterparts.In other words, individual interests are both the cause and the result of society.As a result, the question of individual survival and development seems to have been transformed into the following: How can we build a self-conscious and mutually supportive society?Indeed, the evolution of the human social establishment to date has been an attempt to solve this problem.Smith's life-long research is also aimed at this.
(b) How can we foster a community of self-assertion and mutual assistance?
Think of society as a complex network of people, in which the individual is the node.According to Smith (2015), a good society of self-awareness and mutual assistance must first be based on the perfect virtue of the individual, that members of society generally "act in accordance with the principles of perfect prudence, strict justice, and appropriate kindness" (2015, p. 311).For while following the virtues of "cautiousness" can avoid being "hurt" and care for "your own happiness," following the virtues of "justice and kindness" can "promote the happiness of others" and care for "the happiness of others" (2015, p. 345)."These virtues produce no inclination other than the most pleasant consequences."So, Smith argues, people's adherence to the virtue code is "practical wisdom, the surest and most resourceful means of obtaining security and benefits" (2015, p. 395).And all governments are in fact "just some imperfect remedy for the lack of wisdom and virtue" (2015, p. 237), or "no government agency can contribute to the well-being of mankind as much as the prevalence of wisdom and virtue" (2015, p. 237).In popular terms, if all people practice virtue, for example, in interpersonal interaction, they are equally self-disciplined, then society can naturally be stable and orderly.The inability of individuals to exercise self-discipline in their interactions with others, such as improper self-interest at the expense of others, can bring great losses to society, such as may lead to social disorder and even disintegration.While interpersonal justice and social order can be enforced through the organization of government, such external, coercive norms and disciplines are largely passive and can have additional negative effects.At the same time, alternative public mechanisms enforced by governments and other organizations often cost a lot of social costs, and these costs are always shared by society, which undoubtedly detracts from, or even long-term, its own well-being.
Secondly, the content of interaction or relationship between individuals and individuals is self-conscious and mutual.So how do we do that?In Smith's view, the principle of "mutual reciprocity" (2015, p. 108) can be applied to drive people's mutual assistance spontaneously and voluntarily.He found that when a person "provides sufficiently for the needs of others, and equally sufficient for the needs of others" (2011a, p. 6), they naturally achieve beneficial reciprocity and mutual benefit in the act of exchange.Moreover, in such an act of exchange, the parties to the exchange can achieve altruistic results as long as they have self-interest.According to Smith's original words, "If a person voluntarily works for himself for his own benefit and stimulates the selfishness of others, he can achieve his goal relatively easily."Anyone who wants to trade with someone else can start by offering: Give me what I want so you can get what you want from me.That is the meaning of the transaction.(2014, p. 7) That is, buyers and sellers are willing to exchange their own things with each other because of their selfishness, satisfying their own needs while satisfying the needs of others, achieving practical consequences of altruism.In short, altruistic results are achieved in the purpose of self-interest, or in the perfect unity of self-interest and altruism in the act of exchange.Of course, the primary condition of mutually beneficial exchange is that each party to the exchange has its own resources and produces "resources" that can satisfy or be exchanged for the needs of others (2011a, p. 12).Thus, Smith's opening essay on the Wealth of Nations emphasizes the importance of the "division of labor" (2011a, p. 1).