ABSTRACT
In Smith’s work, there is a “problem” in the representation of primitive societies. In the works preceding the Wealth of Nations, Smith, drawing for his information on the travel literature then available, takes a substantially positive view of primitive societies, where he emphasizes the savages’ morality and refers to the abundance of free time in their societies. By contrast, in the Wealth of Nations, primitive societies are represented by a state of wretchedness as opposed to civilized nations with their “wealth, opulence and prosperity.” This chapter will explain Smith’s negative depiction of primitive societies in the Wealth of Nations and its connection with the construction of political economy. Starting in the 1760s, Smith constructs a conjectural anthropology that gives a negative representation of savages: primitive societies are placed in the four-stage theory of the evolution of mankind and are described as “the lowest and rudest” state of society, a conjectural historical representation then developed in the Early Draft. The four-stage theory gives an “economic” interpretation of human evolution. The main categories of this theory of human progress are the concepts of division of labor and (market) exchange – the two fundamental concepts of the new political economy – whose virtuous relationship is fully investigated in the Wealth of Nations. Their absence explains the economic backwardness of primitive societies, while their extent explains the opulence of civilized societies, where “the system of natural liberty” can be realized. Smith’s conjectural anthropology is instrumental in the construction of political economy.
