Adam Smith and the benign knavery of machines
Egoism or altruism? This question kicked off the eighteenth century, pitting Mandeville and Shaftesbury against one another; their debate is the background to Smith’s economic thought. These men were a study in contrasts. Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733) was a Dutchman living in London, earning his keep as a doctor and writing on the side controversial…