This paper exhaustively examines all Adam Smith’s references to “machines,” including machine metaphors or analogies, with a view to a comprehensive interpretation of the significance of the machine in his thought as a whole. By bringing together all Smith’s references to machines (and variants of that term), as well as his references to related phenomena, mechanics and engines (and variants), the totality of the various different kinds of uses of these terms assists in clarifying the meaning of each of them. However, this exercise is undertaken particularly with a view to the significance of machines in Smith’s political economy.
Type Articles Information Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 475 - 490 Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2012Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)
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