On the Birth of Economic Science During the Italian-Scottish Enlightenment: Two Paradigms Compared

Stefano Zamagni

doi:10.18290/rns20482-1

Stefano Zamagni University of Bologna and Johns Hopkins University, SAIS Europe

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rns20482-1

Keywords: political economy, civil economy, market capitalism, solidarity, fraternity

Abstract

The essay pursues a double aim. On the one hand, it offers a comparative analysis of the two main economic paradigms of the Enlightment period, i.e. the political economy one, associated with the name of Adam Smith, and thecivil economy one, associated to the name of Antonio Genovesi. On the other hand, it gives reasons why, in the last quarter of a century, the civil economy paradigm is gaining more and more grounds. The paper ends up with some considerations on the major drawbacks of libertarian individualism in the present epoch.

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