Appeal October 2006: God's Invisible Hand

Akira Takahashi, Vice-Chairman of the IBC Committee

Adam Smith explained the market's logic based on the self-love in expression "God's invisible hand". I summarize his explanation in chapter 2, volume 4 of "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations". -- We can do only to cater for our life. We don't have an intention to pursue the public profit of the society. We don't understand what degree we promote it in. Moreover, we are thinking of our profit continuously when doing all the action. However, when we pursue our profit, God's invisible hand leads us to promote the profit of the whole society. It is more effective than our intensive effort to do it. An ordinary human being like us have a occupation which is suitable for our ability in the division system. We must work strenuously because of the improvement of our life and our family's one. Our effort and thrift make our life abundant. Then, it contributes to the improvement of the social wealth.
Also, we must have a moral (morality, ethics, custom) to make work "God's invisible hand" which Adam Smith found.
However, if the people who run the society lose their moral, "God's invisible hand" can not work effectively. "God's invisible hand" depends on our moral.