Adam Smith and Agriculture: The Political Economy of the ‘Unnatural and Retrograde’ Order Revisited

2025/09/10 by Lasse S. Andersen · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Economic Theory and Institutions #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Political Economy and Marxism

paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/01916599.2025.2554462

openalex publication_date 2025/09/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15

Abstract

This paper provides a reinterpretation of Adam Smith's distinction between the natural and the unnatural and retrograde order of progress. In doing so, the paper explores Smith's idea of the division of labour and its limitations; the agrarian assumptions underlying his political economy; the significance of transportation costs to his understanding of the effects of free trade; and his desire to see the customs and laws supporting primogeniture and entails undermined in Great Britain and throughout Europe.

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• Article: Adam Smith and Agriculture: The Political Economy of the ‘Unnatural and Retrograde’ Order Revisited, by Lasse S. Andersen doi.org/10.1080/0191... [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

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