• Adam Smith's View on Human Nature


    Recently, I found an excellent paper from Ronald Coase which summarizes the basic concept of Adam Smith on human nature. I would urge my readers to read the whole paper (first published in The University of Chicago's Journal of Law and Economics) as I think it provides a correct summary and a strong insight on how economists and also lawyers should think about human nature.

    The final paragraph of Coase's paper is very important that I will just copy it here for ease of reading. Enjoy!

    "It is wrong to believe, as is commonly done, that Adam Smith had as his view of man an abstraction, an “economic man,” rationally pursuing his self-interest in a single-minded way. Adam Smith would not have thought it sensible to treat man as a rational utility-maximizer. He thinks of man as he actually is-dominated, it is true, by self-love but not without some concern for others, able to reason but not necessarily in such a way as to reach the right conclusion, seeing the outcomes of his actions but through a veil of self-delusion. No doubt modern psychologists have added a great deal, some of it correct, to this eighteenth century view of human nature. But if one is willing to accept Adam Smith’s view of man as containing, if not the whole truth, at least a large part of it, realization that his thought has a much broader foundation than is commonly assumed makes his argument for economic freedom more powerful and his conclusions more persuasive"

  • 20 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Thank you, Pramudya. You prompt me to study law and economics as you make these subjects so interesting and applicable to daily life. I regard your blog as an online education. You are an educator with great pedagogical skills, just like your professors at the University of Chicago.

    I hope you will bring these rare skills to educate the young generation in Indonesia. We need great people like you.

    Greetings from Sweden.

    Anonymous said...

    Pramudya, the Ronald Coase link does not work. Where can I get the paper?

    Thanks in advance.

    Pramudya A. Oktavinanda said...

    Thanks for the notice. I have replaced the link with a new one. It should work this time.

    hell boy said...

    Hello! I recently wish to offer a massive thumbs up to the great information you have here with this post. We are returning to your blog for much more soon. EliaAndPonto.com

    hell boy said...

    I think other site proprietors should take this website as an model – very clean and magnificent style and design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this area! gpwlaw-mi.com

    sandeep saxena said...

    I got lot of ideas after reading this. Share more as similar to this. Thank you for shared this.
    C C++ Training in Chennai
    c c++ classes
    C C++ Training in OMR
    C C++ Training in Adyar
    JMeter Training in Chennai
    Appium Training in Chennai
    javascript training in chennai
    core java training in chennai

    truthaboutislam said...

    Amazing shared extremely extraordinary article keep update the the new one
    Islamic Sharia Law

    priya rajesh said...

    I have finally found a worth able content to read, your information in this blog is impressive. Keep sharing more like this.
    Data Science Course in Chennai
    Data Science Training in Chennai
    R Training in Chennai
    R Programming Training in Chennai
    Machine Learning Course in Chennai
    Machine Learning institute in Chennai
    Data Science Training in Anna Nagar

    Lilly Ann said...

    Such a really helpful article. terribly fascinating to scan this text. I would wish to thanks for the efforts you had created for putting this on ink awe-inspiring article.

    yuvarani said...


    I feel satisfied to read your blog, you have been delivering a useful & unique information to our vision.keep blogging.
    Regards,
    Data Science Course in Chennai
    Data Science Certification in Chennai
    Data Science Training Institute in Chennai
    R Training in Chennai
    RPA Training in Chennai
    DevOps certification in Chennai
    Data Science course in Velachery
    Data Science course in Tambaram
    Data Science Training in Porur

    Chris Hemsworth said...

    I have been reading for the past two days about your blogs and topics, still on fetching! Wondering about your words on each line was massively effective. Techno-based information has been fetched in each of your topics. Sure it will enhance and fill the queries of the public needs. Feeling so glad about your article. Thanks…!
    best software testing training in chennai
    best software testing training institute in chennai with placement
    software testing training
    courses

    software testing training and placement
    software testing training online
    software testing class
    software testing classes in chennai
    best software testing courses in chennai
    automation testing courses in chennai

    Naveen S said...

    This is the first & best article to make me satisfied by presenting good content. I feel so happy and delighted. Thank you so much for this article.

    Learn Best Digital Marketing Course in Chennai

    Digital Marketing Course Training with Placement in Chennai

    Learn Digital Marketing Course Training in Chennai

    Digital Marketing Training with Placement Institute in Chennai

    priya said...

    I have been reading for the past two days about your blogs and topics, still on fetching! Wondering about your words on each line was massively effective.
    php online training in chennai
    php programming center in chennai
    php class in chennnai
    php certification course
    php developer training institution chennai
    php training in chennnai
    php mysql course in chennai
    php institute in chennnai
    php course in chennnai
    php training with placement in chennnai
    php developer course

    priya said...

    Nice post. Thanks for sharing! I want people to know just how good this information is in your article. It’s interesting content and Great work.
    appium online training
    appium training centres in chennai
    best appium training institute in chennnai
    apppium course
    mobile appium in chennnai
    mobile training in chennnai
    appium training institute in chennnai

    w3webschool said...

    Thanks for nice Information

    Digital Marketing Course In Kolkata

    tike mik said...

    The short point here is that it is important to seek advice as soon you detect a problem and before anything has been done to make it worse. Crisis management is always more expensive and time-consuming than early response.

    עורך דין עמית ורד

    merlin said...

    i am glad to read it.
    valuable one ...waiting for next update.
    Selenium Training in chennai | Selenium Training in anna nagar | Selenium Training in omr | Selenium Training in porur | Selenium Training in tambaram | Selenium Training in velachery

    subha said...

    I like the helpful info you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I am quite sure I will learn much new stuff right here! Good luck for the next! keep it up
    Ai & Artificial Intelligence Course in Chennai
    PHP Training in Chennai
    Ethical Hacking Course in Chennai Blue Prism Training in Chennai
    UiPath Training in Chennai

    Back linker said...

    Paragon NTFS 17.0.72 Crack is an awesome software program for writing and reading the files from SSD, HDD, or flash drive formatted on Mac. Paragon NTFS Crack

    Links For You said...

    Grammarly Crack is an app that gives an online proofreading service to its user. It is very important for the user who writes many official Crack Grammarly


    The Protection of Criminal Suspects in Law and Economics Perspective

    Forthcoming in Jurnal Teropong Edisi RUU KUHAP 2015 | 23 Pages | Posted: 10 May 2015 | Date Written: April 28, 2015

    Public Choice Theory and its Application in Indonesian Legislation System

    24 Pages | Posted: 8 Oct 2012 | Last revised: 8 Nov 2014 | Date Written: October 8, 2012

    Special Purpose Vehicle in Law and Economics Perspective

    Forthcoming in Journal of Indonesia Corruption Watch, 'Pemberantasan Kejahatan Korupsi dan Pencucian Uang yang Dilakukan Korporasi di Sektor Kehutanan', 2013 | 15 Pages | Posted: 22 Aug 2013 | Date Written: August 18, 2013

    Legal Positivism and Law and Economics -- A Defense

    Third Indonesian National Conference of Legal Philosophy, 27-28 August 2013 | 17 Pages | Posted: 22 Aug 2013 | Last revised: 3 Sep 2013 | Date Written: August 22, 2013

    Economic Analysis of Rape Crime: An Introduction

    Jurnal Hukum Jentera Vol 22, No 7 (2012) Januari-April | 14 Pages | Posted: 12 Nov 2011 | Last revised: 8 Oct 2012 | Date Written: May 7, 2012

    DISCLAIMER

    As the author of this site, I am not intending to provide any legal service or establish any client-attorney relationship through this site. Any article in this site represents my sole personal opinion, and cannot be considered as a legal advice in any circumstances. No one may use or reproduce by any means the articles in this blog without clearly states publicly that those articles are the products of and therefore belong to Pramudya A. Oktavinanda. By visiting this site, you acknowledge that you fully understand this disclaimer and agree to fully comply with its provisions.