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- Liberty: Adam Smith and Alexis de Tocqueville
-
- Both Adam Smith and Alexis de Tocqueville agree that an individual is
- the most qualified to make decisions affecting the sphere of the
- individual as long as those decisions do not violate the law of justice.
- >From this starting point, each theorist proposes a role of government
- and comments on human nature and civil society. Smith focuses on
- economic liberty and the ways in which government can repress this
- liberty, to the detriment of society. De Tocqueville emphasizes
- political liberty and the way that government can be organized to
- promote political liberty, protect individual liberty, and promote civil
- liberty.
- Adam Smith's theory makes a strong argument for the assertion that a
- free market will provide overall good for society, but, as de
- Tocqueville points out, it provides little or no protection for the
- poor. Smith's picture of human nature given in The Theory of Moral
- Sentiments suggests that people would do good and take care of the weak
- because of characteristics of their nature. Unfortunately, this image
- contrasts with the picture of the individual which emerges from his
- economic argument in Wealth of Nations and is a generally unsatisfying
- answer.
- In attempting to define liberty, Adam Smith is mostly concerned with
- negative liberty, or freedom from constraint, especially market
- constraints. According to him, in a free market, as long as they are not
- fettered by government regulation, actions are guided toward the public
- good as if by an invisible hand. Furthermore, the economic sphere is the
- determining section of society. Therefore from his economic model, he
- derives his argument for the best role of government and asserts that
- the resultant society will be the best overall for civilization.
- Since he defines the individual as sovereign (within the laws of
- justice), and he defines liberty as freedom from constraint, his
- argument begins with the individual, defining a man's labor as the
- foundation of all other property. From this it follows that the
- disposition of one's labor, without harm to others, is an inviolable
- right which the government should not restrict in any way (Smith 215).
- He uses his economic theory to support his belief that this limitation
- on government action creates the most overall good for society.
- First, he defines all prices as being determined by labor (Smith 175).
- Since labor causes raw materials to have value, Smith asserts that labor
- confers ownership, but when stock is used there must be something given
- for the profits of the investors, so labor resolves itself into wages
- and prices (185). The support for the free market lies in the way the
- prices are determined and the inner workings of the market. The prices
- ultimately come from the value of labor. A capitalist will want to
- produce as much as possible, in order to make the greatest profit,
- therefore his demand for labor will rise. As the demand for labor rises,
- wages will rise. As more people begin working to meet the increased
- demand for labor, production will rise, and prices will fall. Following
- this argument, in a free market, everybody is working for his or her own
- personal gain, but maximum production occurs, which increases overall
- wealth and prosperity. If the government interferes by setting minimum
- wages, charging prohibitive taxes, or regulating prices, it interrupts
- the natural flow of the market. Therefore, Smith argues that the market
- prices of wages and of goods should be regulated by the market rather
- than by the government.
- Smith then identifies three classes of people who develop from
- capitalism: laborers, landlords, and capitalists. Each of these groups
- act purely out of self-interest, and for this reason Smith does not
- think any of them will be able to effectively rule with the good of
- society in mind. The laborers are incapable of comprehending "that the
- interest of the labourer is strictly connected with that of the
- society..." (Smith 226). The landlords are the most impartial of the
- classes and therefore the least likely to use government for any plan or
- project of their own, but they are "too often, not only ignorant, but
- incapable of that application of mind which is necessary in order to
- foresee and understand the consequences of any public regulation" (226).
- By process of elimination, Smith settles on the capitalists as the most
- fit to rule, but stipulates, "the proposal of any new law or regulation
- of commerce which comes from this order ought always to be listened to
- with great precaution, and out never to be adopted till after having
- been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but
- with the most suspicious attention" (227).
- Due to the lack of a class which would be able to lead with society's
- interests in mind and because the unfettered free market in which
- everyone is selfishly motivated produces the most, Smith relegates to
- government only the three tasks of the defense of the nation, the
- administration of justice, and the maintenance of certain public works
- (289). This plan will prevent too many unnecessary restrictions on
- "perfect" liberty, or complete freedom from restraints, and will allow a
- system of natural liberty to establish itself in which every man, as
- long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free
- to pursue his own interest his own way.
- This role of government also solves the impassable lack of information
- problem that, according to Smith, is faced by any government which takes
- the responsibility for superintending the industry of private people. No
- government official could possibly account for all of the chains of
- cause and effect, and no government can truly know what is in the best
- interest of every individual.
- Furthermore, it is important to recognize that in Smith's theory, the
- government is actually defending the rich against the poor. The poor,
- according to Smith, are often driven by envy and need to invade the
- possessions of the rich. "It is only under the shelter of the civil
- magistrate that the owner of that valuable property, which is acquired
- by the labour of many years or perhaps of many successive generations,
- can sleep a single night in security" (294). Note the assumption that
- the rich are entitled to their wealth because it is acquired by hard
- work either of the person or his family. Because of this, Smith
- considers civil government a necessary institution.
- One objection to this view of government and to the economic reading in
- general is that one of the duties of government is to protect the poor
- from the tyranny of the rich. In fact, in Smith's economic perspective,
- money demonstrates preferences. Therefore, people with more money are
- able to influence the market much more than people with less, and would
- therefore be less needing of government protection. It is the people
- with less money who can least afford change and bad times. Thus, these
- people are in the least position to combat unfair practices or to change
- their position.
- Alexis de Tocqueville recognizes this fault in Smith's system. First,
- laborer becomes more and more involved in his labors, and therefore more
- focused on the small details for which he is responsible, while the
- industrialist becomes increasingly interested in the larger workings of
- the factory. In this way, the two classes become less alike and mobility
- between them becomes more difficult. Finally, "the industrial
- aristocracy of our day, when it has impoverished and brutalized the men
- it uses, abandons them in time of crisis to public charity to feed them"
- (de Tocqueville 558). In Smith's governmental plan, there are no
- provisions for taking care of the poor when they are not taken care of
- by the market system.
- In his Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith suggests that human nature
- will turn the beneficence of the rich to the poor out of sympathy for
- their condition (136), but this response does not offer strong enough
- promise that the poor will be cared for when the market fails. One can
- only hope that the de Tocqueville analysis is wrong and the laborers
- will always make high enough wages. Yet in Wealth of Nations, Smith
- says, "A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least
- be sufficient to maintain him," (197), but is later forced to admit that
- when society is in decline, wages fall even below "what is barely enough
- to enable [a laborer] to bring up a family, or to continue the race of
- laborers" (226).
- It is the capitalists who are calculated to be the most qualified to
- serve as government officials, it is the capitalists who have the most
- control over the market through manipulation of their money, and in the
- end it is still the capitalists who Smith thinks need to be protected
- from the poor. This lack of provision for the laborer makes Smith's
- system rather unsatisfying.
- Alexis de Tocqueville offers a more satisfying system stemming from the
- same faith in individual sovereignty. Where Smith states, "Every
- individual . . . can, in his local situation judge much better than any
- statesman or lawgiver can do for him" (265), de Tocqueville says,
- "Providence has given each individual the amount of reason necessary for
- him to look after himself in matters of his own exclusive concern. That
- is the great maxim on which civil and political society in the United
- States rests..." (397) The phraseology of these similar arguments is
- demonstrative if the different emphasis of the authors. Smith's phrase
- inherently limits government whereas de Tocqueville's includes it in
- government. By turning his focus to political society, de Tocqueville
- highlights the role of positive liberty 5 in government and builds an
- argument for the protection of political liberty and individual freedom,
- which he considers to be built into aristocratic society, but easily
- lost in democratic society.
- In defining liberty, de Tocqueville applauds the following definition
- of freedom by Winthrop:
- "There is a civil, a moral, a federal liberty, which is the proper end
- and object of authority: it is a liberty for that only which is just and
- good; for this liberty you are to stand with the hazard of your very
- lives. . .This liberty is maintained in a way of subjection to
- authority; and the authority set over you will in all administrations
- for your good be quietly submitted unto, by all but such as have a
- disposition to shake off the yoke, and lose their true liberty, by their
- murmuring at the honour and power of authority" (46).
- This definition emphasizes positive liberty, which is maintained through
- subjection to the authorities which have liberty as their goal. Implicit
- in this definition then is the assertion that government will has the
- power to act in the name of society.
- In an aristocratic society, negative liberty in the form of freedom
- from arbitrary control is built into the system. Also, for the
- aristocrats, positive liberty in the form of ability to act as a group
- exists. The question which de Tocqueville faces in describing democracy
- is how to expand these liberties to include all people. Positive liberty
- is opened to all people by extending the suffrage and electing a
- representative government, but there are no structural barriers to
- protect the negative liberties.
- Alexis de Tocqueville is especially concerned with the tendency towards
- tyranny of the majority. He therefore examines the institutions in
- American society which will balance the tendency of the majority to
- overpower its opposition. One such system is that of strong local
- government. De Tocqueville agrees with Smith that people should be
- allowed to take care of their own affairs because they are closer to
- them. He then extends his analysis beyond this to include the social
- benefits of strong local government. "Local liberties . . . bring men
- constantly into contact, . . . and force them to help one another"
- (511). Such social benefits are the more important consideration for de
- Tocqueville. If society can be maintained in a way which counteracts the
- overpowering strength of the majority, liberty will continue.
- Unlike Smith, however, de Tocqueville does not think that this argument
- for strong local government leads to the conclusion that federal
- government should be extremely limited. In fact, de Tocqueville expects
- the tasks of government to perpetually increase. This conclusion is
- based on the assertion that men will be less and less able to produce
- the bare necessities (515). Smith agrees with this statement but expects
- the market to step in and provide all that is desired. De Tocqueville
- does argue that the government must never wholly usurp the place of
- private associations.
- Implicit in his criticism of Adam Smith's industrial economy, which
- argued that the industrial aristocracy would abandon the poor to
- government support, is the assertion that government will take
- responsibility for the poor. De Tocqueville observes that in the United
- States the framers of government had "a higher and more comprehensive
- conception of the duties of society toward its members than had the
- lawgivers of Europe at that time, and they imposed obligations upon it
- which were still shirked elsewhere. There was a provision for the poor .
- . ." (44). The phrases chosen demonstrate de Tocqueville's support for
- the programs. While Adam Smith would argue that these provisions would
- hinder the free market by redistributing income and interfering
- taxation, de Tocqueville is clearly asserting that the duty of society
- to its members does include obligations to protect the weaker members of
- society.
- One of Smith's reasons that government should be limited is because
- there is no group of people who will rule with the good of society in
- mind. By turning the focus away from the individual or class of people
- who will be the magistrates and towards the system of selection, de
- Tocqueville makes a case for not needing to limit democratic government
- as severely as Smith would like. "It is certainly not the elected
- magistrate who makes the American democracy prosper, but the fact that
- the magistrates are elected" (512). The people collectively will elect a
- group of representatives who will have the power to make laws, but the
- power of executing them will be left to the lower officials. "Often only
- the goal to be aimed at is indicated to [the magistrates], and they are
- left to choose their own means" (206). In this way, the power of
- government is great, but the power of each individual to turn it to
- personal gain is small.
- It is not the definitions of liberty offered by the two theorists which
- are wholly incompatible, but rather the assertions about the workings of
- society and the conclusions about the role of government. Adam Smith's
- account provides a good argument for the power of the market and for a
- laissez-faire governmental policy. Unfortunately, his theory fails to
- account for the societal problems such as maintenance of the poor.
- Alexis de Tocqueville's theory uses the same considerations of
- individual rights and self-interested motives, but examines more closely
- the societal institutions which can balance governmental action. He
- therefore relegates a larger role to government which includes a duty to
- take care of its members through legislation aimed at liberty.
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