ABSTRACT
The idea captured by Adam Smith (1723–1790) in his celebrated metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ – namely that the best economic outcome for society is obtained when each individual pursues his or her own interests (Smith 1976: IV, ii, 9) – has provided the fundamental motivating idea of economics theory and practice in liberal capitalist countries for over two centuries. In modern times it is commonly interpreted to mean that the best guarantors of national wealth and future prosperity are private enterprise and freely operating markets.
