Individualism in Modern Thought: From Adam Smith to Hayek

243 Pages·1998·9.62 MB·English

by  Lorenzo Infantino

INDIVIDUALISM IN MODERN
THOUGHT
The usage of 'collective' concepts such as Society, State, Church and Class is
essential to both the social sciences and to everyday discourse. But what in
reality corresponds to such concepts? Proponents of methodological individu
alism argue that it is individual human action, with its unintentional and
unpredictable consequences, which shapes any collective concept.
Individualism in Modern Thought is a comprehensive survey of methodological
individualism in social, political and economic thought from the
Enlightenment to the 20th century. Exploring the works of such figures as de
Mandeville, Smith, Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, Menger, Simmel, Weber,
Mises, Hayek, Popper and Parsons, this study underlines the contrasts
between methodological collectivism and methodological individualism. The
detailed analysis offered here also reveals the theoretical presuppositions
behind the collectivist and individualist traditions and the practical conse
quences of their applications. Infantino concludes in favour of individualism.
This work touches upon issues in social and political theory, intellectual
history, political philosophy, political economy and sociological theory. The
relationship between the individual and the constitution of society is of key
interest to Infantino, who draws upon the ideas of Hayek to develop his own
unique approach to the issues examined.
Lorenzo Infantino is Professor of Sociology at Libera Universita
Internazionale degli Studi Sociali, Rome.
ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN SOCIAL AND
POLITICAL THOUGHT
2 HAYEK AND AFTER
Hayekian liberalism as a research programme
Jeremy Shearmur
2 CONFLICTS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
Edited by Anton van Harskamp
3 POLITICAL THOUGHT OF ANDRE GORZ
Adrian Little
4 CORRUPTION, CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY
John Girting
5 FREEDOM AND CULTURE IN WESTERN SOCIETY
Hans Blokland
6 FREEDOM IN ECONOMICS
New perspectives in normative analysis
Edited by Jean-Francois Laslier, Marc Fleurbaey, Nicolas Gravel and Alain Trannoy
7 AGAINST POLITICS
On government, and order
Anthony deJasay
8 MAX WEBER AND MICHEL FOUCAULT
Parallel life works
Arpad Szakolczai
9 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
G.B. Madison
10 ON DURKHEIM'S ELEMENTARY FORMS
Edited by W Pickering, W Watts Miller and N J. Allen
11 CLASSICAL INDIVIDUALISM
The supreme importance of each human being
Tibor R. Machan
12 THE AGE OF REASONS
Quixotism, sentimentalism and political economy in eighteenth-century
Britain
Wendy Motooka
13 FORGET LYOTARD?
Edited by Chris Rojek and Bryan S. Turner
14 INDIVIDUALISM IN MODERN THOUGHT
From Adam Smith to Hayek
Lorenzo Infantino
15 PROPERTY AND POWER IN SOCIAL THEORY
A study in intellectual rivalry
Dick Pels
16 WITTGENSTEIN AND THE IDEA OF A CRITICAL
SOCIAL THEORY
Giddens, Haberman and Bhaskar
Nigel Pleasants
INDIVIDUALISM IN
MODERN THOUGHT
From Adam Smith to Hayek
Lorenzo Infantino
London and New York
First published 1998
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016
Transferred to Digital Printing 2006
© 1998 Lorenzo Infantino
Typeset in Garamond by Routledge
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
BritiJh Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congrm Cataloguing in Publication Data
Infantino, Lorenzo, 1948-
[Ordine senza piano. English]
Individualism in modern thought: from Adam Smith to Hayek / Lorenzo
Infantino.
(Routledge studies in social and political thought: 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Individualism-History. I. Title. II. Series.
HM136.146513 1998
302.5'4'09-dc21 97-52179
CIP
ISBN 0-415-18524-6
TO MY PARENTS
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CONTENTS
Preface x
1 Introduction 1
0/
The 'abuse reason' 1
0/
Political economy and the discovery unintentional order 2
0/
The birth sociology and intentional order 4
The 'revolt against individualism' 5
The alliance against the open society 6
2 Bernard de Mandeville and Adam Smith: the theory of the
'great society' 9
Man, a social animal 9
0/
Needs and the division labour 11
Can a 'commercial society' survive? 13
0/ 0/
The advantage Ego and the advantage the Other: the 'invisible
hand' 15
Ateleological development 19
Mandeville: the service rendered by others is always a means 21
Smith: the service rendered by others is always a means (on the principle
of'sympathy') 24
'The Adam Smith problem' 27
The consistency o/Smith's theory 30
Some conclusions 31
3 Which method? A question about the philosophy of the
social sciences 41
Unintentional order and the individualistic method 41
The 'individualistic' method makes clear the social link 43
0/
The individualistic method and the errors psychologism 45
VB
CONTENTS
Auguste Comte: the collectivistic method and the impossibility of the 'great
society' 48
Karl Marx: between politics and science 52
4 Durkheim and the application of the collectivistic
method 57
Durkheim versus the 'great society' 57
The state as independent variable 60
Durkheim and political economy 64
Is society a 'sui generis' reality? 67
Society is not a 'sui generis' reality 71
Between positivism and idealism 77
5 Is an 'individualistic' reading of Durkheim possible? 83
The elements that justify an 'individualistic' reading of
Durkheim 83
Durkheim under the 'individualistic' lens 85
Is it possible to reconcile Durkheim and Spencer? 90
Is it possible to reconcile Durkheim and Simmel? 95
6 Economists and sociologists compared: Carl Menger and
Georg Simmel, Ludwig von Mises and Max Weber 100
Carl Menger: methodological individualism and 'marginalistic
revolution' 100
The 'convergences' between Carl Menger and Georg Simmel 106
Ludwig von Mises: the theory of action in the development of
Austrian marginalism 114
The 'convergences' between Max Weber and Ludwig von Mises 118
Mises's criticism of Weber's quadripartition of meaningful
action 125
7 The early Parsons: between sociology and economics 131
The 'death' of Spencer and the expulsion ofSimmel 131
The misunderstanding of the rational construction of
preferences 13 4
In search of the 'voluntaristic-creative' element 140
The problem of the 'common system of ultimate ends' 146
The 'sociologistic theorem' 151
The missing solution 157
Economic cost and social obligation 163
Vill
CONTENTS
8 Conclusions 166
'Let us learn to be selves' 166
Sociology and economics 169
The task of the social sciences 172
Notes 174
References 210
Index 222
IX