A theoretically explicit idea that there can be a free-market economy that does not need state intervention is largely a product of early modern European political philosophers—most notably, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679); Adam Smith (1723-1790), and Sir James Steuart (1713—1780). These men invented the justification for free-market economics; contemporary defenders of free-market capitalism continue to hearken back to their formulations. Hobbes's observations that individuals give up some of their autonomy in exchange for protection begins this particular line of thought. In the work of Smith and Steuart, the "norm of reciprocity," as it is known, became the central justification for an autonomous free-market economy.

The arguments of Smith and Steuart assumed that reciprocity was not just an observable fact of human society, but actually a natural force in and of itself—a regulatory mechanism that would cause the give and take of market interests to eventually balance out, regardless of individual greed or misappropriation. Smith's notion of the "invisible habiosignaturend" that regulates the market without external controls is perhaps the most famous such formulation. Steuart arguably went even further when he described the activity of exchange as the very basis of society itself—the "cement" that bound the producers of different commodities together through mutual interdependence.


The primary purpose of this passage is to


criticize the theoretical justifications for an autonomous free-market economy

contrast the theories of Hobbes, Smith, and Steuart about a free-market economy

trace the evolution of Adam Smith's notion of the “invisible hand”

make a theoretical justification available to modern-day defenders of free-market capitalism

describe the origins of the theoretical justifications for free-market capitalism

考题讲解

此讲解的内容由AI生成,还未经人工审阅,仅供参考。

正确答案是E。这篇文章的主要目的是描述自由市场资本主义的理论依据的起源,即托马斯·霍布斯(Thomas Hobbes)、亚当·斯密(Adam Smith)和詹姆斯·斯蒂尔特(Sir James Steuart)的想法。文章指出,这些思想家创造了自由市场经济的理论证明,当代支持自由市场资本主义的人仍然延续着这种教义。文章描述了三位思想家的观点,其中包括贪婪或不当行为也可能促使市场利益回归平衡的斯密的“看不见的手”理论,以及斯蒂尔特指出交换活动是社会本身的基础、将不同商品的生产者结合起来的“水泥”等。无论哪些选项,都不能完全概括出文章所描述的内容,因此选项E“描述自由市场资本主义的理论依据的起源”是正确答案。

展开显示

登录注册 后可以参加讨论

快来第一个发言吧
BiChu21-RC