Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics

Breaking Out of the Smithian Box: The Division of Labor and Entrepreneurship

2026-07-20T16:15:25+02:00

This paper revisits the critique of Murray Rothbard and Frank Fetter leveled against Adam Smith's economic theory. We offer a “historical reconstruction” of Rothbard and Fetter’s critique as seen from their point of view, as understanding their arguments requires situating them within their broader economic analytical framework. We focus on the case of the division of labor and the role of entrepreneurship, with the conclusion being that under the light of the Austrian tradition, it is justified that Smith's understanding of labor and entrepreneurship remained unsatisfying for Rothbard and Fetter, whose critique can be seen as complementary to each other's.

From the “Sense of Justice” to “Public Reason” A reading of Rawls through Smith, Rousseau and Kant

2026-05-26T11:18:47+02:00

This paper investigates two closely connected Rawlsian concepts: “the sense of justice” and “public reason.” While Rawls assumes that all members of a society are endowed with a sense of justice, which guarantees the emergence of public reason in a well-ordered democratic society, he does not really specify how the passage from a sense of justice at the individual level to public reason at the collective level becomes real and effective. To clarify this issue, we use a particular research method specific to the analytical history of economic thought: text analysis. Via this method, we have made an instrumental use of some of the main concepts of three great authors, Smith, Rousseau, and Kant, in order to shed light on the steps from the sense of justice to public reason.

Reconsideration of Bicchieri’s Theory of Social Norms: Conceptual Clarifications for Empirical Modelling

2026-03-13T13:28:01+01:00

Cristina Bicchieri’s theory of social norms is one of the most influential frameworks for diagnosing and measuring norms in behavioural science. Yet its application and experimental practice has revealed conceptual ambiguities and inconsistent operationalisation. This paper offers conceptual clarifications aiming at methodological extensions of Bicchieri’s account while remaining largely compatible with the framework. I argue that three aspects of her theory require clarification for effective use in economics: (i) the co-existence of four distinct kinds of social beliefs (first- and second-order, descriptive and normative), (ii) the notion of belief consistency, which should be understood in statistical terms, and (iii) the alignment of reference networks as a condition for norm identification. Refining these aspects provides both improved conceptual clarification and practical guidance for experimental operationalisation. By bridging philosophical analysis with methodological considerations, the paper strengthens the foundations for using Bicchieri’s framework to identify and model social norms in economics and the social sciences.

Review of Jon D. Wisman’s Why We Must Work: Economic Freedom, Fulfilling Work, and Workplace Democracy. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026, xiii + 255 pp.

2026-09-01T12:08:40+02:00

Review of Ingrid Robeyns’ (ed.) Pluralizing Political Philosophy: Economic and Ecological Inequalities in Global Perspective. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2025, x + 339 pp.

2026-05-29T03:00:17+02:00

Review of Matthew D. Adler’s Risk, Death, and Well-Being: The Ethical Foundations of Fatality Risk Regulation. Oxford University Press, 2025, 324 pp.

2026-06-18T14:58:33+02:00

Subsidiarity and Solidarity in Adam Smith’s Free Society

2026-03-01T20:43:00+01:00

Adam Smith is commonly portrayed as a champion of market freedom, yet this reading obscures the broader political framework underlying his conception of a free society. This paper argues that Smith's social thought is structured by two complementary principles—subsidiarity and solidarity—which together constitute the normative architecture of modern liberty. Reconstructing Smith’s neglected theory of political society, it shows that the public good cannot be reduced to market prosperity or the aggregation of private interests, but encompasses freedom, opulence, and collective happiness. Subsidiarity is reflected in Smith's account of limited yet active government, while solidarity emerges from his moral psychology of sympathy and his account of human interdependence. Their integration explains why Smith rejects both laissez-faire and paternalism, instead defending a commercial society in which markets, political institutions, and intermediary communities jointly sustain independent agency and human flourishing.

Reflections on the 2025 Nobel Memorial Prize Awarded to Joel Mokyr

2026-07-17T16:43:13+02:00