Citizens, Markets and Social Order: An Aristotelian Reading of Smith and Rousseau on Justice
Justice is the corner stone of society; but not any justice. Adam Smith and Jean-Jacques Rousseau differ on the type of justice needed to guarantee a well-ordered and prosperous society. There are different types of justice that regulate different kinds and levels of social interactions. Some involve our direct relationships with our fellow-beings others our relationship with the law as the expression of our will as citizens. This chapter uses Aristotle’s understanding of justice in the city to assess the differences in the types of justice Smith and Rousseau consider fundamental for society. Through this lens it is possible to understand the difference between commutative justice, which Smith rendered the building block of society, and universal justice, which Rousseau considered the backbone of the society of the general will. This difference furthers our understanding of the coincidences and differences in their appraisal of commercial society.