Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests
<p dir="ltr">What is the source of the adulation of the rich-and-powerful? It cannot be benevolence. But then what is the criterion that delineates adulation from benevolence? This paper argues that the criterion resides in the set of inputs of the utility function: Does the set incl...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Published: |
2019
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1864513549982760960 |
|---|---|
| author | Elias L. Khalil (20518877) |
| author_facet | Elias L. Khalil (20518877) |
| author_role | author |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv | Elias L. Khalil (20518877) |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv | 2019-10-14T09:00:00Z |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv | 10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268 |
| dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv | https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Is_the_Adulation_of_the_Rich-and-Powerful_Derived_from_Benevolence_Adam_Smith_and_the_Distinction_Between_Aspiration_and_Interests/28891718 |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv | Economics Applied economics Human society Political science Sociology Psychology Cognitive and computational psychology Social and personality psychology rational choice political psychology social rank political order sympathy empathy |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv | Text Journal contribution info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion text contribution to journal |
| description | <p dir="ltr">What is the source of the adulation of the rich-and-powerful? It cannot be benevolence. But then what is the criterion that delineates adulation from benevolence? This paper argues that the criterion resides in the set of inputs of the utility function: Does the set includes only <i>interests</i>, i.e. bundles of goods and resources? If so, the product is benevolence. But if the set includes aspiration, i.e. the desire to attain some imagined higher station, the product is adulation. Relying on Smith's theory, aspiration first amounts to the immersion of the self with the desired higher station. Second, aspiration becomes supplanted with adulation, the basking under the achievements of the more successful rich-and-powerful as second best, i.e. when the decision maker fails to attain the aspired station. The proposed interests-aspiration distinction, as the ground of the benevolence-adulation distinction, has one important payoff. The origin of the adulation of higher rank, and the consequent stability of the political order, should be traced to aspiration-derived inputs, not exclusively to interests.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Critical Horizons<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268</a></p> |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| id | Manara2_23566891c28dd6aea7f9dcf55f159376 |
| identifier_str_mv | 10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268 |
| network_acronym_str | Manara2 |
| network_name_str | Manara2 |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:figshare.com:article/28891718 |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| repository.mail.fl_str_mv | |
| repository.name.fl_str_mv | |
| repository_id_str | |
| rights_invalid_str_mv | CC BY 4.0 |
| spelling | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and InterestsElias L. Khalil (20518877)EconomicsApplied economicsHuman societyPolitical scienceSociologyPsychologyCognitive and computational psychologySocial and personality psychologyrational choicepolitical psychologysocial rankpolitical ordersympathyempathy<p dir="ltr">What is the source of the adulation of the rich-and-powerful? It cannot be benevolence. But then what is the criterion that delineates adulation from benevolence? This paper argues that the criterion resides in the set of inputs of the utility function: Does the set includes only <i>interests</i>, i.e. bundles of goods and resources? If so, the product is benevolence. But if the set includes aspiration, i.e. the desire to attain some imagined higher station, the product is adulation. Relying on Smith's theory, aspiration first amounts to the immersion of the self with the desired higher station. Second, aspiration becomes supplanted with adulation, the basking under the achievements of the more successful rich-and-powerful as second best, i.e. when the decision maker fails to attain the aspired station. The proposed interests-aspiration distinction, as the ground of the benevolence-adulation distinction, has one important payoff. The origin of the adulation of higher rank, and the consequent stability of the political order, should be traced to aspiration-derived inputs, not exclusively to interests.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Critical Horizons<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268</a></p>2019-10-14T09:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1080/14409917.2019.1672268https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Is_the_Adulation_of_the_Rich-and-Powerful_Derived_from_Benevolence_Adam_Smith_and_the_Distinction_Between_Aspiration_and_Interests/28891718CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/288917182019-10-14T09:00:00Z |
| spellingShingle | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests Elias L. Khalil (20518877) Economics Applied economics Human society Political science Sociology Psychology Cognitive and computational psychology Social and personality psychology rational choice political psychology social rank political order sympathy empathy |
| status_str | publishedVersion |
| title | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| title_full | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| title_fullStr | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| title_short | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| title_sort | Is the Adulation of the Rich-and-Powerful Derived from Benevolence? Adam Smith and the Distinction Between Aspiration and Interests |
| topic | Economics Applied economics Human society Political science Sociology Psychology Cognitive and computational psychology Social and personality psychology rational choice political psychology social rank political order sympathy empathy |