Adam Smith and Political Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Adam Smith and Political Economy - Essay Example The quality of life and individual prosperity is determined by social and economic progress of individuals and the community at large (Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, 243). People should engage in activities that promotes fairness and unity in the society for common interest of the society. Therefore, individuals must show concern for others in the society, in order to achieve harmonious and significant living. The individual’s liberty in fulfilling social obligation is one of the driving forces of a nation development. People make their own choices without interference from others to maximize their personal gain. The choice to be made must satisfy a certain need in the society (Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, 264). Adam Smith perceived rivalry as an important element in an advancement of the nation. Exercising this personal liberty sets persons mind free to engage in activities which brings benefit to both individuals and to the community. This liberty has made people to choose the ir own activities to engage in. However, individual liberty should not obstruct the rights of other people in the society. No one is coerced to undertake any activity whatsoever. This is imperative for advancement of a nation because, people maximize their input in activities of their own choice (Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, 271). People have chance to select and competitively participate in economic activities of their own interest. If people work live without interfering with others affairs, this will promote peace and understanding in the society. Fairness should be the guiding principle in making decision to fulfill communal obligations. The communal regulations are set to guide individuals in choosing their own activities for economic progress (Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, 274). It is always essential to take into consideration the needs of the public before engaging in any activity. People should carry out those activities which will result to individuals benefit and serve the needs of the entire community. Therefore, it is fair to engage in activities of the society as an individual and try to avoid doing things which are likely to cause damage to other people. This means there is an extent to which a person can do things and going beyond the set principles will be unjust to the society. For example in business, traders should sell legal goods otherwise this will be unfair to the consumers. They should also sell those commodities at a fair price and avoid overexploiting the consumers. Fairness should guide them in deciding what to sell and the price at which they will sell those commodities to the public. Fairness will also ensure equality in the nation and people will have a sense of life. On the other hand, injustice limits achievement of individual goals and achievement of their obligations to the society. For example, if some students were allowed to cheat in an exam, this would be unfair to the society and negligence in fulfillment of their obligat ions (Bowie, Michaels and Solomon, 286). Therefore, fairness will determine the individuals’ performance towards their social obligations. Living a moral life is a triumph against evil. The author has emphasized on the importance of living a good life on earth. People should ensure uprightness in all their dealings