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The invisible hand is a metaphor inspired by the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the incentives which free markets sometimes create for self-interested people to act unintentionally in the public interest. Smith originally mentioned the term in two specific, but different, economic examples.
invisible hand, metaphor, introduced by the 18th-century Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith, that characterizes the mechanisms through which beneficial social and economic outcomes may arise from the accumulated self-interested actions of individuals, none of whom intends to bring about
Sep 16, 2022 · The invisible hand is a concept that was coined by economist Adam Smith to illustrate hidden economic forces. The invisible hand is a metaphor that describes the unseen forces of self-interest ...
Some of the concept’s most virulent critics have been economists. In his book, Head to Head, Harvard’s Lester Thurow wrote that “Too often, Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand’ became the hand of a pickpocket.” In Twenty-First Century Capitalism, the Marxist academic Robert Heilbroner shed crocodile tears for the alleged passing of the ...
May 15, 2024 · Invisible Hand: The term “invisible hand” is a metaphor for how, in a free market economy, self-interested individuals operate through a system of mutual interdependence to promote the general ...
- Christina Majaski
- 2 min
Oct 12, 2022 · Last updated: Oct 12, 2022 • 4 min read. Eighteenth century economist Adam Smith developed the concept of the Invisible Hand, which became one of the cornerstone concepts of a free market economic system.
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Mar 21, 2023 · The invisible hand: Capitalism's misunderstood metaphor Adam Smith, the legendary 18th century Scottish philosopher, coined the usage of this economics term
