N 104 primavera 2006

ESTUDIOSPBLICOS

Composicin Pedro SeplvedaDiagramacin David Parra

Impreso en Andros Productora GrficaHecho en Chile / Printed in Chile, 2006.

ESTUDIOS PBLICOSeditada por el Centro de Estudios Pblicos (www.cepchile.cl)

Director Responsable Arturo Fontaine Talavera

Comit Editorial Enrique Barros, Harald Beyer, Sebastin Edwards,Cristin Eyzaguirre, Juan Andrs Fontaine, David Gallagher,

Juan Pablo Illanes, Felipe Larran, Lucas Sierra, Rodrigo Vergara

Secretaria de Redaccin Mara Teresa Miranda H.

Secretaria Ejecutiva Ana Mara Folch V.

Estudios Pblicos (ISSN 0716-1115; ISSN 0718-3089) es una publicacin trimestralde carcter multidisciplinario. El Comit Editorial, con el apoyo de rbitros annimos,selecciona los trabajos para su publicacin. Los artculos son responsabilidad de susautores y no reflejan necesariamente la opinin de los editores ni del Centro de Estu-dios Pblicos.

Toda colaboracin debe ceirse a las normas de Estudios Pblicos que se indican alfinal de la revista. Las contribuciones, as como todo comentario y correspondencia,deben dirigirse a: Comit Editorial, Estudios Pblicos, Monseor Stero Sanz 162,Santiago 9, Chile. Telfono: 328-2400. Fax: 328-2440.

Centro de Estudios Pblicos.Toda reproduccin total o parcial de los artculos est prohibida sin la debida autori-zacin del Centro de Estudios Pblicos. El CEP tiene los derechos intelectualesexclusivos de las versiones en castellano de artculos traducidos de otros idiomas.

IndexacinEstudios Pblicos est, entre otros ndices, en Clase (Universidad Nacional Autnomade Mxico); Handbook of Latin American Studies (Biblioteca del Congreso de losEstados Unidos); HAPI (Universidad de California, Los Angeles); International PoliticalScience Abstracts (International Political Science Association); PAIS International inPrint (OCLC).

Direccin electrnicaArtculos, abstracts e ndices por autores y temas en www.cepchile.clSee home page www.cepchile.cl for a selection of papers published in EstudiosPblicos which have been translated into English.

SuscripcionesPedidos directos al Centro de Estudios Pblicos. Monseor Stero Sanz 162.Santiago, Chile. Telfono: 328-2400. Fax: 328-2440 (Vase formulario de suscripcin.)

ISSN 0716-1115 versin impresa.ISSN 0718-3089 versin en lnea.

ESTUDIOS PBLICOSREVISTA DE HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS SOCIALES

N 104 primavera 2006

NDICE

PRESENTACIN

Leonidas Montes Tras la Huella de Adam Smith: Su RelevanciaHoy 5

Samuel Fleischacker Adam Smith y la Igualdad 25

James R. Otteson Adam Smith y la Libertad 51

Jimena Hurtado P. Rawls y Smith: De la Utilidad de laSimpata para una Concepcin Liberalde la Justicia 89

M. Alejandra Carrasco Adam Smith: Filsofo de la Razn Prctica 113

Ryan Patrick Hanley Adam Smith, Aristteles y la tica de laVirtud 149

Eric Schliesser La Concepcin Benevolente peroInteresada de la Filosofa de Adam Smith 179

Mara Elton Benevolencia y Educacin Pblica enAdam Smith 217

Leonidas Montes Sobre el Newtonianismo y la Teora delEquilibrio Econmico General de AdamSmith 247

Felipe Larran B. Cmo Potenciar la Innovacin en Chile? 279

Sebastin Claro y Competencia China: Buena, Variada y Barata 307Ramn Delpiano

Mladen Koljatic y Validacin de la PSU: Comentarios alMnica Silva Estudio Acerca de la Validez Predictiva

de los Factores de Seleccin a lasUniversidades del Consejo de Rectores 331

Carlos F. Amuntegui Algunas Consideraciones sobre lasCortesanas en la Comedia de Plauto 347

Abstracts 363

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

Estudios Pblicos, 104 (primavera 2006).

PRESENTACIN

TRAS LA HUELLA DE ADAM SMITH:SU RELEVANCIA HOY

Leonidas Montes

La influencia de algunos pensadores marca un verdadero hito ennuestra historia intelectual. Adam Smith es un notable ejemplo. Ce-lebrando los 230 aos de la publicacin de Una Investigacin acercade la Naturaleza y las Causas de la Riqueza de las Naciones (1776),un conjunto de ensayos en este volumen destaca la relevancia para ladiscusin actual de quien es considerado uno de los grandes pilaresdel pensamiento liberal. Esta introduccin a la serie de ensayos quele siguen se inicia destacando de manera muy sucinta algunos aspec-tos de la vida y obra de Adam Smith. En seguida se analiza parcial-mente la recepcin de la obra de Smith con un hincapi especial enalgunas de las contribuciones ms recientes en torno a la investiga-cin del legado de este pensador. Finaliza con el objetivo principalde esta breve introduccin, esto es, presentar los ensayos que lesiguen.

LEONIDAS MONTES. Ingeniero Civil Industrial, Licenciado en Filosofa, Magsteren Ciencia Poltica de la Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile; Ph.D. y M.Phil.Facultad de Economa de la Universidad de Cambridge. Profesor de Economa en laUniversidad Adolfo Ibez y miembro del Consejo Directivo del CEP.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

6 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

E1. Introduccin

n cuanto a la influencia y relevancia de Adam Smith, cmo en-tender el legado de este intelectual alabado por Burke y utilizado en la causade la Revolucin Francesa, admirado por Kant y rebatido por Bentham,defensor de las virtudes del capitalismo y a la vez implacable crtico dealgunos de sus defectos? Cmo explicar que Smith, considerado uno delos grandes padres del liberalismo, fue admirado por Marx? Distintas res-puestas surgen ante estas interrogantes, pero lo cierto es que el legado deAdam Smith posee mltiples interpretaciones. El padre de la economa tienemuchas caras, sobre todo en el mbito poltico. En efecto, los dos primerosensayos en este volumen Otteson y Fleischacker muestran interpreta-ciones aparentemente contrapuestas, pero no necesariamente excluyentes,de Adam Smith: una desde la derecha poltica y otra desde la izquierda,respectivamente.

El contexto poltico de Gran Bretaa a fines del siglo XVIII, principal-mente dominado por whigs y tories, no es de gran ayuda para definir lavisin poltica de Smith. El celo por su vida privada, reflejado en su escasacorrespondencia, tampoco nos permite tener una idea clara. Si el conceptode liberalismo era completamente ajeno a su contexto, ms distantes anseran las distinciones, cada vez ms difusas, entre izquierda y derecha, oliberal versus progresista. Pero Adam Smith contribuye a la gestacin deuna concepcin econmica y poltica liberal1. Y su obra, fuente inagota-ble de ideas, constituye un frtil cimiento para la tradicin liberal.

Se podra argumentar que todo el legado de Smith se resume en elanlisis, la promocin y su defensa de el plan liberal de la igualdad, libertady justicia (RN IV.ix.3, 664). sta es su gran tarea: la formacin de unasociedad mejor. Su aproximacin a los fenmenos sociales es principalmen-te desde la perspectiva de la economa poltica, la jurisprudencia y la tica.Este gran proyecto de construir una ciencia social es multidisciplinario yesencialmente interdisciplinario. Muy en el espritu de la Ilustracin, recor-dando el sapere aude de Kant, prcticamente no quedan reas del saberajenas a esta monumental tarea.

Lo interesante es que, trascendiendo las distinciones ideolgicas, ellegado de Smith sigue teniendo vigencia significativa. Aunque sus palabrasno sean siempre del agrado de todos los consumidores, tanto la izquierda

1 Utilizo el concepto liberal de acuerdo a nuestra tradicin hispana, no en suconcepcin norteamericana de una posicin poltica de izquierda, sino como referenciaa una tradicin liberal de la cual Smith forma parte, que bien podra ajustarse a lo que enla tradicin anglosajona se ha denominado el liberalismo clsico.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 7

como la derecha, as como progresistas, liberales clsicos y conservadores,se pueden beneficiar con una lectura de Adam Smith.

Estas disquisiciones iniciales nos llevan al tema de fondo de estaintroduccin: cul es el verdadero legado de este pensador cuyo impactotrasciende el mbito de la economa? Es Adam Smith an relevante? Estaspreguntas, complejas y a la vez provocativas, son en parte respondidas enesta coleccin de ensayos. Sin embargo, antes de especular sobre su lega-do y su relevancia, es importante comprender quin era realmente AdamSmith y en qu contexto le toc vivir. Aunque no es tema de esta introduc-cin, el estudio de la Ilustracin escocesa como un fenmeno social muyparticular es, a mi juicio, sumamente relevante2. Sin duda lo que sucedidespus del Acta de Unin entre Escocia e Inglaterra en 1707, una vez quese funda Gran Bretaa, es esencial. El consecuente desarrollo econmico ysocial de Escocia fue clave en la percepcin que los pensadores escocesestuvieron de la sociedad comercial que se estaba formando. Los intelectua-les escoceses fueron testigos de muchos cambios, positivos y negativos.Lo cierto es que Smith es una importante figura dentro de un contextointelectual muy peculiar, que es la Ilustracin escocesa3.

2. Algunos antecedentes de Adam Smith y su obra

En un pequeo pueblo escocs llamado Kirkcaldy, donde slo habaaproximadamente 1.500 habitantes a comienzos del siglo XVIII (Rae, 1895:7), nace en 1723 Adam Smith. A los 14 aos, como era comn en esa poca,comienza sus estudios universitarios en la Universidad de Glasgow. Des-pus de la unin entre Escocia e Inglaterra en 1707, Glasgow haba experi-mentado un rpido crecimiento econmico. El traslado desde su pequeopueblo natal a una prspera ciudad comercial debe haber sido un cambioimportante para el joven Smith. Sus estudios universitarios son en lenguasclsicas, filosofa (lgica, metafsica y pneumtica), teologa, matemticas y

2 En relacin con el contexto de la Ilustracin escocesa, Bryson (1945) es untexto clsico. Tambin conviene consultar Campbell y Skinner (1982), Berry (1997) yBroadie (2001, 2003). Para una novela intelectual fascinante que narra la importanciade la Ilustracin escocesa para el mundo moderno, recomiendo How the Scots Inventedthe Modern World (2001), de Arthur Herman.

3 En cuanto a su vida, las biografas clsicas de Adam Smith son la de John Rae(1895) y la ms reciente, actualizada y comprensiva, es The Life of Adam Smith,publicada en 1995 por Ian Simpson Ross. Otras biografas que pueden consultarse sonHirst (1904), West (1976) y el breve texto de Raphael (1985), que sirve como intro-duccin a Smith y su legado.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

8 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

filosofa moral. Sin duda esta ltima disciplina tuvo una enorme influenciaen el joven Smith, sobre todo porque esta ctedra estaba en manos delnever to be forgotten Dr Hutcheson (Corr. 274, 309). Francis Hutcheson(1694-1746) fue uno de los fundadores de la Ilustracin escocesa, padre dela teora del moral sense y maestro de la nueva generacin a la que Smithperteneca. En 1740 Adam Smith parte con una beca a Balliol College en laUniversidad de Oxford. All su experiencia universitaria durante aproximada-mente seis aos, en contraste con la vibrante vida intelectual en Glasgow,fue acadmicamente desilusionante4. Pero constituy un perodo de extraor-dinaria formacin intelectual.

De regreso a Escocia comienza a dictar unas clases pblicas de be-lles lettress en la Universidad de Edimburgo. En 1752 es elegido para lafamosa ctedra de filosofa moral en la Universidad de Glasgow, cuyo pres-tigio provena de la tradicin iniciada en esta ctedra por Francis Hutche-son. Ocupa esta posicin acadmica hasta 1764 y es durante este perodocuando se comienzan a forjar los primeros indicios de lo que ser el legadode Adam Smith. Sus clases de filosofa moral, segn el testimonio de sualumno y amigo John Millar, comprendan teologa natural, tica, jurispru-dencia y economa poltica (ver EPS, 274-275). Mientras es profesor de filo-sofa moral, escribe su Teora de los Sentimientos Morales (TSM).

No debemos olvidar que el prestigio intelectual de Smith proviene desu Teora de los Sentimientos Morales, publicada en 1759. Fue esta obra,inspirada en sus clases de filosofa en la Universidad de Glasgow, la queconcit la admiracin de sus pares. Al momento de ser publicada, el granfilsofo David Hume, probablemente su mejor amigo, le escribe una gracio-sa y larga carta con ese tono tan propio de su carcter alegre y jovial. Humeparte enumerando a las personalidades de la poca a quienes les habahecho llegar copias de TSM, pidindole ms adelante excusas por la demoraen escribirle para contarle algo del xito de su libro, pronosticando concierta probabilidad si finalmente debe ser condenado al olvido o registradoen el templo de la inmortalidad (Corr. 31, 33). Despus de otra extensadigresin, contina: Mi querido Mr. Smith, tenga paciencia, tranquilidad ensu compostura, mustrese como un filsofo en la prctica as como en suprofesin, piense en lo vaco, lo rstico y ftil que es el juicio comn de loshombres (Corr. 31, 34). Finalmente le transmite la noticia: Suponiendo,

4 Critica duramente el sistema de Oxford, donde los profesores reciben un sueldofijo, ya que por todos estos aos los profesores pblicos han perdido incluso la preten-sin de ensear (RN V.i.f.7, 761). Por el contrario, defiende el sistema escocs, dondelos profesores reciben un sueldo fijo y otro variable que se recauda directamente de losalumnos.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 9

entonces, que se ha preparado para lo peor con estas reflexiones, procedo acontarle las noticias melanclicas, que su libro ha sido muy desafortunado,ya que el pblico tiende a aplaudirlo en extremo (Corr. 31, 35).

TSM recibi elogios de Edmund Burke (Corr. 38, 46-47), fue traduci-da al francs5 y le permiti a Adam Smith ser invitado a comienzos de 1764como tutor del duque de Buccleuch a un grand tour por el continente. staera una oferta atractiva, tanto desde una perspectiva intelectual como eco-nmica. Abandona su ctedra de filosofa moral en la Universidad de Glas-gow y se embarca en su primer viaje al extranjero. Ese mismo verano de 1764Smith le escribe a Hume contndole que estaba aburrido, y que para pasar eltiempo habra comenzado a escribir un libro (ver Corr. 82, 102), con todaprobabilidad el germen de su La Riqueza de las Naciones (RN). En granparte gracias a los contactos de David Hume, Smith conoce personalmentea los grandes representantes de la Ilustracin francesa: Voltaire, Montes-quieu, Helvetius, Holbach, DAlambert, entre otros. Adems el futuro padrede la economa tiene la oportunidad de conocer a Turgot y, ms importantean, a Francois Quesnay, el padre de los fisicratas. Su contacto con elfundador de la escuela fisicrata, que pregonaba el laissez faire, laissezpasser con el corolario poltico de que el mejor gobierno es el menor gobier-no, fue una influencia importante para Smith, pero en ningn caso decisiva.En el libro IV titulado De los sistemas de economa poltica de RN criticaal sistema agrcola. Segn los fisicratas, la riqueza de un pas est princi-palmente en la naturaleza, en particular la agricultura6.

Smith, al inicio de su La Riqueza de las Naciones, en la Introduc-cin y plan de la obra, responde de inmediato a la pregunta sugerida en elttulo de su gran obra: la riqueza de una nacin est en el trabajo producti-vo. Pensar que la riqueza de una nacin est en la naturaleza sera el granerror de quienes se hacan llamar a s mismos les Economistes. Por elloSmith se refiere en el ltimo captulo del libro IV, con su peculiar y finairona, al sistema agrcola como aquel que representa el producto de latierra como la nica fuente del ingreso de una nacin, y que en el presenteslo existe en las especulaciones de unos pocos hombres de gran saber eingenuidad en Francia (RN IV.ix.2, 663). Los dems ocho captulos del libroIV son una crtica enrgica y sostenida del sistema mercantil. En efecto, el

5 En 1764 fue traducida por Marc Antoine Eidous y en 1774-1775 por Jean-Louis Blavet. Asimismo sabemos que en 1774 Louis Alexandre de La Rochefoucauldprepar un manuscrito de su traduccin. Una nueva traduccin fue publicada en 1798,en pleno perodo revolucionario, por Sophie de Grouchy, en ese entonces viuda deCondorcet. Esta ltima traduccin est basada en la ltima edicin de TSM.

6 De all el nombre de fisicratas (physis-kratos): el gobierno o la direccin de lanaturaleza.

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TIntroduction

he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

10 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

mercantilismo equivocadamente sostiene que la riqueza de un pas est ensus reservas, promoviendo polticas econmicas de carcter proteccionistaque restringen el libre comercio.

Despus de casi tres aos en el continente, principalmente en Fran-cia, Smith regresa a Londres a causa de la inesperada muerte del hermanomenor del duque, quien durante su enfermedad fue atendido por el propioQuesnay. De regreso a Londres, en 1766, el duque de Buccleuch se compro-mete a mantenerle la generosa mensualidad de por vida. Gracias a este apo-yo econmico, Smith se retira a Kirkcaldy y con la excepcin de unas pocasvisitas a Londres y Edimburgo, se dedica durante los prximos diez aos aescribir su RN. Esta importantsima obra fue publicada finalmente en 1776,poco antes de la revolucin americana, ad portas de la revolucin francesay de lo que aos despus sera la revolucin industrial.

El buen David Hume, despus de leer RN, le escribe Euge! Belle!Querido Sr. Smith: estoy muy satisfecho con su desempeo (Corr. 150,186), y lo invita a discutir ciertos puntos, advirtindole que tiene que serpronto, ya que su delicado estado de salud no le permitir una larga espera.Aproximadamente cinco meses despus David Hume muere apaciblemente.En una carta a su editor William Strahan, Adam Smith describe la muerte desu gran amigo David Hume, alabando su carcter. Este testimonio fue publi-cado, lo que, dada la reputacin de ateo de su amigo Hume, produjo ciertareaccin pblica. Smith se queja de que ese inofensivo pedazo de papel...me ha producido diez veces ms problemas que el muy violento ataque quehice sobre todo el sistema comercial de Gran Bretaa (Corr. 208, 251). Alreferirse de esta forma a su RN, este testimonio es evidencia de que Smithestaba consciente del carcter revolucionario de sus ideas en el plano de laeconoma poltica.

En una suerte de irona histrica, en 1777 Adam Smith, el defensordel libre mercado, es nombrado Comisionado de Aduanas en Edimburgo.No obstante que esta posicin poda asumirse como una sinecura, ejercisus funciones con celosa responsabilidad. Tanto es as que pese a laspromesas para escribir un tratado de jurisprudencia que completara su planoriginal de conformar el gran sistema de una ciencia social que incluye-ra tica (TSM), economa poltica (RN) y jurisprudencia, el tiempo le resul-ta escaso7.

7 Esta promesa qued al final de la primera edicin de la TSM (1759). Posterior-mente en una carta de 1785 a su editor promete unas pequeas alteraciones (Corr. 244,281) para una sexta edicin. Sin embargo slo tres aos ms tarde se da cuenta de laverdadera dimensin de su tarea, dejando por un tiempo sus labores en Aduanas para hacermuchas adiciones y correcciones (Corr. 276, 310). Despus de un ao de arduo trabajoen TSM, Smith se excusa con su editor por la excesiva demora (ver Corr. 287, 321), perosigue trabajando en ella. Finalmente la sexta edicin de TSM se publica de manera pstu-ma en 1791.

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TIntroduction

he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 11

Su Riqueza de las Naciones no sufri mayores cambios en sus dosltimas ediciones de 1786 y 17898. No obstante, los ltimos aos de su vidaSmith los dedic a su libro de tica: aproximadamente un tercio de la sextaedicin de la TSM corresponde a adiciones que Smith realiz en este ltimoperodo de su vida. Pese a que ciertos intrpretes no consideran relevantesdichos cambios, a mi juicio son significativos porque reflejan su pensamientoms maduro. Es particularmente interesante su intencin de complementar suconcepto de simpata y espectador imparcial con una tica de la virtud.

En seguida realizar un recorrido muy personal, y en ningn casoexhaustivo, en cuanto al impacto intelectual de Adam Smith.

3. La recepcin de Adam Smith y la investigacin reciente

No obstante que el impacto inicial de TSM fue tal vez mayor que elde RN9, la gran influencia por un lado de Bentham, y por otro lado de Kant,sumieron a la TSM en una suerte del olvido. Lo cierto es que RN tuvo granimpacto en los acontecimientos polticos de fines del siglo XVIII, sobretodo en cuanto a su enorme influencia en la Independencia americana. Peroante estos dos grandes sistemas morales, como son el utilitarismo y el kan-tianismo, la moral smithiana, basada en los sentimientos, entra en lo quepodramos definir como un largo perodo de hibernacin. El ritmo de lasreediciones de RN y TSM es una prueba de este fenmeno durante lossiglos XIX y XX10. Adam Smith pas a convertirse en el padre de la econo-ma, e incluso el padre del laissez faire atribuido a la escuela de Manchester.Sin embargo en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX un grupo de economistasalemanes pertenecientes a la escuela histrica comenzaron a cuestionar laTSM. Se preguntaron cmo era posible que el mismo autor hubiera escritodos libros tan distintos. En RN se defenda la concepcin del inters propioy en TSM el concepto de simpata. El homo economicus descansa en un serhumano egosta y el homo moralis en un ser benevolente. As se origina elfamoso Das Adam Smith Problem, un debate que mantuvo, y mantiene,un activo inters intectual11.

8 La segunda edicin de la RN apareci en 1778, la tercera, para la cual seagregaron unas 24.000 palabras, apareci en 1784, y las subsiguientes dos ediciones (1786y 1789) no presentan alteraciones de ningn tipo. En efecto, al comienzo de la cuartaedicin aclara: En esta cuarta edicin no he hecho alteraciones de ningn tipo.

9 Para la recepcin de RN, ver Teichgraeber (1987), Rashid (1998: 135-181) yRothschild (1992).

10 Por ejemplo durante los primeros tres cuartos del siglo XX se realizan slocuatro reimpresiones de TSM en ingls, y ms de cuarenta de RN.

11 Una interpretacin respecto al contexto que pudo originar el Smith Problemy las reacciones ante ste, en Montes (2004, captulo 2).

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TIntroduction

he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

12 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

Skaryski (1878) encontr una explicacin muy simple para este fe-nmeno: fue el contacto de Adam Smith con los materialistas francesesdurante su viaje al continente lo que habra producido un cambio en supensamiento. Antes de partir al grand tour escribe su TSM, donde se enfo-ca en la benevolencia de lo seres humanos, y al regresar a Gran Bretaadesarrolla su RN, donde destaca el carcter egosta de la naturaleza humana.El ao 1896 Edwin Cannan (1861-1935) publica los apuntes de los estu-diantes de Adam Smith12, donde est claro que muchas de sus ideas eneconoma poltica estaban presentes antes de su viaje al continente. Si eldescubrimiento de los apuntes de clases ech por la borda la Umschwungs-theorie que explicara el problema de Smith, el problema estaba basado enuna concepcin errnea de lo que Smith deca. Existe cierto generalizadoconsenso en que TSM, y a fortiori el concepto de simpata, no es acerca dela benevolencia, y RN tampoco es acerca del egosmo. Si bien es cierto queen RN no aparece el concepto de simpata, en TSM el concepto de interspropio, que difiere del egosmo que a la vez tanto critica en esta obra, estratado en profundidad.

En la primera mitad del siglo XX el connotado economista JacobViner (1892-1970) y Glenn Morrow ([1923] 1927, 1969) producen excelentesestudios de Adam Smith. La introduccin a la nueva traduccin al alemnde TSM realizada por Walter Eckstein (1926) es tambin un trabajo funda-mental. Cabe asimismo destacar en este perodo Adam Smith as Studentand Professor (1927), de William Scott. No obstante hay a mi juicio dosobras que marcan un quiebre. Por una parte en su influyente ensayo AdamSmith and Laissez Faire (1927) Jacob Viner plantea que TSM y RN sonobras divergentes e imposibles de reconciliar, resucitando el famoso AdamSmith Problem. Sugiere que RN sera un libro de economa poltica y TSMuna obra de tica donde Smith nos revelara una clara influencia religiosa.Por otra parte, en su colosal History of Economic Analysis (1954), JosephSchumpeter plantea que Smith no es un pensador original. Para Schumpetertal vez lo nico rescatable y original en RN sera el captulo de precios (RNI.vii) como precursor de la teora del equilibrio econmico, la Magna Cartade la teora econmica (Schumpeter, 1954: 189, 968). La influencia de ambosconnotados economistas ocasiona lo que podramos definir como una rela-tiva prdida de inters en el legado de Adam Smith13.

12 stas son sus Lectures on Jurisprudence, correspondientes a ciertos apuntesde sus clases durante los aos acadmicos de 1762-1763 y 1763-1764.

13 Para entender la autoridad intelectual que figuras como Jacob Viner y JosephSchumpeter inspiraban, basta recordar que Hayek en su notable ensayo Two Types ofMind se refiere a Viner y a Schumpeter como master of his subject (Hayek 1978: 51).Esta prdida de inters es relativa, ya que en 1957 Joseph Cropsey, dentro de la corriente

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TIntroduction

he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 13

No obstante que la obra de Smith contina siendo de inters parauna amplia gama de historiadores del pensamiento econmico14, hasta haceunos treinta aos Adam Smith era el objeto de estudio por parte de historia-dores del pensamiento econmico que estudiaban el perodo clsico desdeuna perspectiva marxista (e. g., Maurice Dobb, 1973; Ronald Meek, 1977). Elfoco principal era RN, como eventual precursor del materialismo histrico, lateora del valor y la teora de la alienacin. Un pequeo grupo notable-mente Hayek y Friedman defenda las credenciales liberales del padre dela economa.

El bicentenario de RN en 1976 es un punto de inflexin para el estu-dio de Adam Smith. Para celebrar la ocasin, Oxford University Press iniciaun ambicioso proyecto: el Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspon-dence of Adam Smith. El legado completo de Adam Smith se publica entre1976 y 1983, fruto del monumental esfuerzo de los editores generales An-drew S. Skinner y David D. Raphael. Estas obras establecen los textos can-nicos de Adam Smith, instaurndose un sistema de citaciones. Las obraspublicadas son:

TSM The Theory of Moral Sentiments, editado por D. D. Raphael y A.L. Macfie, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.

RN An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,editado por R. H. Campbell y A. S. Skinner, Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1976.

Corr. Correspondence of Adam Smith, editado por E. C. Mossner y I.S. Ross, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977.

LJ Lectures on Jurisprudence, editado por R. L. Meek, D. D. Ra-phael y P. G. Stein, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.

EPS Essays on Philosophical Subjects, editado por W. P. D. Wight-man y J. C. Bryce, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.

LRBL Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, editado por J. C. Bryce,Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983.

Adems se publican importantes colecciones15. Este renacimiento deproductividad en cuanto al legado de Adam Smith se refleja en una serie de

straussiana, publica su importante obra Polity and Economy, donde destaca ciertos aspec-tos hobbesianos en Smith. Posteriormente en 1967 se publica una coleccin de ensayos deA. L. Macfie, futuro editor de TSM, como The Individual in Society.

14 Cabe destacar a Nathan Rosenberg, Mark Blaug, Samuel Hollander, WarrenSamuels, David Levy, Maurice Brown, Rory O Donnell, Glenn Hueckel y Walter Eltis.

15 Previo a la edicin de Glasgow, en el ao 1975, A. Skinner y T. Wilson editanla importante coleccin de ensayos Essays on Adam Smith. Otras colecciones relevantesson ODriscoll (1979), Campbell & Skinner (1982), Jones & Skinner (1992) y Skinner(1996).

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TIntroduction

he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

14 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

ensayos en diversas reas del pensamiento de Smith. En particular los tra-bajos de Recktenwald (1978), Brown (1997) y Tribe (1999) cubren la flo-reciente investigacin en torno a Adam Smith, resumiendo este mpetuproductivo.

Entre 1981 y 1987 Liberty Fund public todas las obras de AdamSmith en un formato de alta calidad y a precios subsidiados por dicha fun-dacin. Recientemente Liberty Fund ha incluido una importante coleccinde obras, incluyendo TSM y RN, en su The Online Library of Liberty(www.econlib.org y www.libertyfund.org). Tambin acaba de publicar elIndex to the Works of Adam Smith, editado por Knud Haakonssen y An-drew S. Skinner, que es un ndice por temas y autores para todas las obrasde Smith. En espaol contamos con muy buenas traducciones (e introduc-ciones) de Carlos Rodrguez Braun para TSM y RN, publicadas por AlianzaEditorial (1997 y 1994, respectivamente), y para los Ensayos Filosficos(Ediciones Pirmide, 1998).

Despus de la edicin de Glasgow hay tres obras en particular queconviene destacar. En 1978 Donald Winch publica Adam Smiths Politics.An Essay in Historiographic Revision, donde entrega una lectura historio-grfica con un interesante componente del humanismo cvico. En 1981Knud Haakonssen publica The Science of a Legislator. The Natural Juris-prudence of David Hume and Adam Smith (1981), donde profundiza en lasLectures on Jurisprudence analizando el concepto de justicia y la importan-cia de una corriente jurisprudencial en Smith que proviene de Grotius yPufendorf. La importante coleccin de ensayos editada por Istvan Hont yMichael Ignatieff en 1983, Wealth and Virtue. The Shaping of PoliticalEconomy in the Scottish Enlightenment, inicia el debate destacando lastensiones entre una interpretacin desde el humanismo cvico (a la Pocock)o jurisprudencial (a la Haakonssen)16. Estas obras gatillan una nueva etapaen trminos de investigacin. No obstante presentar distintos enfoques, suinfluencia sigue vigente en los estudios ms recientes de Adam Smith.

Despus de la cada del muro de Berln en 1989, surgen nuevas in-quietudes respecto al legado de Adam Smith. Si en Smith los marxistasvean a Marx, otros le atribuan una ciega defensa del libre mercado. Lacada del comunismo inici una nueva mirada de los economistas aAdam Smith, mantenindose la tensin entre lecturas progresistas y libera-les clsicas. Importantes economistas como James Buchanan, Robert Coa-se, Friedrich von Hayek, Amartya Sen, Milton Friedman, Vernon Smith and

16 Posteriormente Richard Teichgraeber publica en 1986 Free Trade and MoralPhilosophy.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 15

George Stigler17 entregaron sus propias visiones respecto del padre de laeconoma.

Desde entonces diversos libros como Capitalism as a Moral Sys-tem: Adam Smiths Critique of the Free Market Economy, de Spencer Pack(1991); A Third Concept of Liberty: Judgment and Freedom in Kantand Adam Smith, de Samuel Fleischacker (1999), y el influyente EconomicSentiments: Adam Smith, Condorcet, and the Enlightenment, de EmmaRothschild (2002), han reclamado la figura de Adam Smith para la izquierdapoltica. En particular Rothschild (2001) representa una corriente de historiaintelectual donde plantea la intepretacin ms radical de la mano invisible:sta sera una irona, una broma de Adam Smith para describir la sangrientamano invisible del libre mercado.

En 1993 se publican las obras de Jerry Muller, Adam Smith in HisTime and Ours (1993), y Stewart Justman, The Autonomous Male of AdamSmith (1993). Vivienne Brown en su Adam Smiths Discourse: Canonicity,Commerce, and Conscience (1994) entrega una mirada crtica, analizando lanarrativa de TSM y RN y realizando una investigacin pionera de la influen-cia estoica en Smith. Jeffrey Young en su Economics as a Moral Science(1997) entrega un anlisis de la importancia de la relacin entre TSM y RNen lo concerniente al concepto de justicia de Smith. En su Adam Smith andthe Classics: The Classical Heritage in Adam Smiths Thought (2001) Glo-ria Vivenza estudia las influencias clsicas en Adam Smith. Por su parteSalim Rashid, en su The Myth of Adam Smith (1998), entrega una mirada msiconoclstica del padre de la economa.

En los destacados trabajos de Charles Griswold, Adam Smith andthe Virtues of Enlightenment (1998), y de James Otteson, Adam SmithsMarketplace of Life (2002), se reestablece el importante rol de TSM en lahistoria de la filosofa moral. Esto es digno de resaltar ya que hoy filsofoscomo Martha Nussbaum, Stephen Darwall, Ernst Tugendhat y Charles Larmo-re reconocen la importancia de Adam Smith en el campo de la filosofa moral.

En 2003 James Alvey publica Adam Smith: Optimist or Pessimist?18,donde analiza la defensa y la crtica que realiza Smith de la sociedad comer-cial. Recientemente Samuel Fleischacker public su Adam Smiths Wealth ofNations: A Philosophical Companion (2004), donde extiende una miradapoltica al legado de Smith. Leonidas Montes public Adam Smith in Con-text. A Critical Reassessment of some Central Components of His Thought

17 Ver algunos de estos ensayos, y otros, en las colecciones para celebrar elbicentenario como Glahe (1978) y posteriormente Fry (1992).

18 Ese mismo ao Pierre Force publica Self-Interest before Adam Smith. AGenealogy of Economic Science (2003).

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

16 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

(2004), donde se cubre la importancia de la triloga de la simpata, el especta-dor imparcial y la virtud del self-command. Jerry Evensky publica su AdamSmiths Moral Philosophy. A Historical and Contemporary Perspective onMarkets, Law, Ethics, and Culture (2005), donde explica el legado de Smithcomo el plan liberal de la igualdad, libertad y justicia (RN IV.ix.3, 664),influido por una mirada religiosa.

Istvan Hont publica en 2005 su Jealousy of Trade: InternacionalCompetition and the Nation-State in Historical Perspective, donde entre-ga su perspectiva intelectual de Smith y el contexto del siglo XVIII. Porltimo, se acaba de publicar el esperado Cambridge Companion to AdamSmith, editado por Knud Haakonssen, que incluye a un grupo de prestigia-dos acadmicos, entre ellos Amartya Sen, Emma Rothschild, John Pocock,Knud Haakonssen, Donald Winch, Charles Griswold, Christopher Berry yAlexander Broadie. Recientemente se public una coleccin de ensayos dejvenes doctorados que trabajaron en Adam Smith, titulado New Voices onAdam Smith (2006), editado por Leonidas Montes y Eric Schliesser.

Otra importante iniciativa es la formacin de la International AdamSmith Society, que publica regularmente un Newsletter. Aqu se informande las recientes disertaciones doctorales, publicaciones y conferencias rela-cionadas con Adam Smith. Esta sociedad tambin promueve sesiones es-peciales de Adam Smith con diversas conferencias. Tambin se inici lapublicacin de una nueva revista internacional, la Adam Smith Review, edi-tada por Vivienne Brown, donde se publican crticas de los libros ms re-cientes, dndoles a los autores la posibilidad de responder.

Esta abrumadora produccin intelectual refleja un vibrante ambienteintelectual en cuanto al legado de Adam Smith19. Este creciente inters, enque se estn descubriendo aspectos muy interesantes de las obras menosestudiadas de Smith, y especialmente algunos ensayos en su Essays onPhilosophical Subjects (EPS) acerca del lenguaje, metafsica, astronoma,slo nos confirman por qu grandes pensadores como Adam Smith hantenido tanta influencia y relevancia en nuestra historia.

4. Los ensayos en este volumen

Samuel Fleischacker, en su A Third Concept of Liberty (1999), harealizado una labor pionera descubriendo la posible influencia de Smith enKant. Esta conexin se extrapola al plano de lo poltico en su reciente On

19 Una coleccin bastante exhaustiva de ensayos acerca de Adam Smith se en-cuentra en las recopilaciones editadas por J. C. Wood, Adam Smith: Critical Assessments(1983-1984 y 1994).

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 17

Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations: A Philosophical Companion (2004), don-de analiza en detalle las implicancias polticas que hoy tiene el pensamientode Smith. Como un representante de la izquierda poltica, en su ensayoAdam Smith y la Igualdad Fleischacker defiende una visin progresistade Adam Smith que pone el nfasis en su concepto de igualdad y su pre-ocupacin por los pobres.

Por otra parte James Otteson en su influyente Adam Smiths Market-place of Life (2002) ha realizado una interpretacin del legado de Smith a laluz de una visin ms amplia del mercado. Desde una posicin hayekiana,destacando la preocupacin de Adam Smith por el principio de la libertadindividual, Otteson representara una perspectiva poltica de derecha. En suAdam Smith y la Libertad James Otteson defiende una lectura liberal clsi-ca de Adam Smith donde priman el respeto por la libertad individual y lajusticia conmutativa. La actitud poltica liberal clsica de desconfianza antelos planes sociales, de reticencia frente al rol de los expertos, forma parteintegral de la interpretacin de Otteson.

El primer captulo del libro primero de RN es acerca de la divisin deltrabajo. En su clsico ejemplo de la fbrica de alfileres, Smith cuenta que unhombre por s mismo slo puede producir entre uno y veinte alfileres. PeroSmith ha visto20 una pequea fbrica donde diez hombres se dividendistintas tareas, con lo cual se incrementa la produccin a cuarenta y ochomil alfileres por da (RN I.i.3, 14-15). Con el principio de la divisin deltrabajo y su impacto en la productividad se establecen los fundamentos dela defensa que realiza Smith de la sociedad comercial. Lo notable es queeste primer captulo finaliza con una suerte de experimento mental. Smithcompara la gran diferencia entre las condiciones de vida de un campesinolaborioso y frugal con el lujo extravagante de un prncipe europeo. Peroacto seguido compara al campesino laborioso y frugal con un rey africa-no, dueo absoluto de las vidas y libertades de diez mil salvajes desnu-dos (RN I.i.11, 24). Esta comparacin a mi juicio entrega un mensajepoltico, donde resulta difcil abstenerse de encontrar cierta similitud con elexperimento mental que sugiere la imagen del velo de la ignorancia deRawls. El salvaje desnudo no es dueo de su vida ni de su libertad. Elcampesino, en una sociedad comercial, tiene garantizada su propiedad, laque incluye, en la tradicin liberal lockeana, su vida, su libertad y susderechos de propiedad. Segn Smith, si es laborioso y frugal en unasociedad comercial tendr la oportunidad de mejorar su condicin. Portanto la pregunta es: polticamente qu tipo de sociedad es mejor, la comer-

20 Destaco esto para recordar la importancia de la experiencia en estos pensa-dores.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

18 ESTUDIOS PBLICOS

cial o la africana? Ciertamente, extrapolando al situarse ante el experimentomental rawlsiano, aquella donde se respeta la propiedad en su ms ampliosentido liberal.

En esta lnea argumental, Jimena Hurtado en su Smith y Rawls: Dela Utilidad de la Simpata para una Concepcin Liberal de la Justicia recla-ma para Smith una concepcin ms sofisticada de la justicia social queincluye la simpata y el espectador imparcial. Esto resulta interesante, yaque Rawls errneamente clasifica a Smith como un pensador utilitarista.

En palabras del gran historiador del pensamiento econmico JacobViner, Smith fue el gran eclctico (1927: 199). A mi juicio, este epteto nodebe ser tomado en un sentido peyorativo. Adam Smith no slo hablaba ylea en latn, como era usual en la poca, sino que tena un amplio dominiode la lengua griega. Por ello es muy posible que Adam Smith hubiera estadode acuerdo con esta descripcin. En efecto, etimolgicamente el verbo grie-go eklektikos dice relacin con elegir lo que es mejor. En cuanto a susinfluencias, Smith supo elegir a lo largo de una tradicin intelectual queparte con los clsicos, de quienes era un gran conocedor y admirador. Unarpida mirada por los volmenes que contena su biblioteca (Mizuta, 1967) yuna rpida lectura de su legado son evidencia suficiente de su acabadoconocimiento de los clsicos. La influencia de los clsicos en su obra es untema que ha ido cobrando relevancia, como queda claro en el libro AdamSmith and the Classics (2001) de Gloria Vivenza.

Siguiendo la empresa de estudiar la influencia de los clsicos, MaraAlejandra Carrasco entrega una novedosa lectura de Adam Smith comofilsofo de la razn prctica. Sin duda las figuras de Aristteles y de SantoToms de Aquino eran subestimadas por los intelectuales de la Ilustracinescocesa, pero Carrasco nos muestra como Smith puede ser ledo desde unaptica aristotlica sin que ello signifique una contraposicin a su teora dela simpata y el espectador imparcial, sino muy por el contrario, su posturasera compatible con la razn prctica aristotlica.

En una lnea de investigacin similar, Ryan Hanley pretende rescatarla importancia de una tica de la virtud en una lectura de Smith. No escasual que una parte completa de TSM, titulada Del carcter de la virtud,haya sido agregada en los ltimos aos de vida de Smith para su sextaedicin. Esto implica un giro hacia una tica de la virtud.

En su La Concepcin Benevolente pero Interesada de la Filosofade Adam Smith, Eric Schliesser explora la concepcin de la filosofa deAdam Smith en relacin con la vida comn y las ciencias. En cuanto a lapoltica, se esboza la idea de que la filosofa ayuda a disear un marco

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

LEONIDAS MONTES 19

institucional equitativo y libre del fanatismo como consecuencia no desea-da de la religin. Finalmente se analiza la posicin smithiana en relacin conel republicanismo extremo de Rousseau, sobre quien escribi en una revistade la poca argumentando que Smith defiende a la sociedad comercial comoun medio para filosofar.

Mara Elton en su Benevolencia y Educacin Pblica en Smithhace hincapi en la importancia de la benevolencia en el pensamiento deSmith. Sugiere que el inters por s mismo en La Riqueza de las Nacionesincluso puede ser virtuoso, llegando a ser una prudencia inferior, compati-ble con la benevolencia. Se refiere tambin al destacado papel que en elsistema de la libertad natural Smith le atribuye a la educacin moral y polti-ca de los individuos que conforman una sociedad.

Por ltimo en Sobre el Newtonianismo y la Teora del EquilibrioEconmico General de Adam Smith se explora la metodologa de Newtonpara enfrentar problemas cientficos argumentando que Adam Smith, insertoen el contexto newtoniano de la Ilustracin escocesa, sera un sofisticadointrprete de Newton. Considerando que algunos economistas, entre ellosSchumpeter, han visto a Smith como un precursor de la teora del equilibriogeneral, y que para ello la influencia de Newton habra sido fundamental, seexplica que ambas tesis no son sustentables. Newton y Smith no son pre-cursores del equilibrio econmico walrasiano.

El legado de un pensador del calibre de Adam Smith es y seguirsiendo fuente de nuevas especulaciones y debate. Lo interesante es queAdam Smith trasciende las distinciones entre derecha e izquierda. Las pos-turas de Otteson y de Fleischacker son en apariencia contrarias, pero nonecesariamente excluyentes a los ojos de Smith. Su plan liberal de la igual-dad, libertad y justicia sigue siendo nuestro ms grande desafo.

Por ltimo slo resta agradecer a Samuel Fleischacker, JamesOtteson, Jimena Hurtado, Alejandra Carrasco y Mara Elton por su partici-pacin en este nmero. Expreso tambin mis agradecimientos a la editorialRoutledge por autorizar la traduccin de los ensayos de Ryan Hanley, EricSchliesser y el mo. Agradezco asimismo la importante colaboracin deMartn Bruggendieck y Alberto Ide en la traduccin al castellano de lostrabajos de Samuel Fleischacker, Ryan Hanley y Eric Schliesser, y de losartculos de James Otteson y el mo, respectivamente. Finalmente mi recono-cimiento a Mara Teresa Miranda, secretaria de redaccin de Estudios P-blicos, por su silenciosa y abnegada labor de editar lo que en principiopareca una tarea imposible.

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he demise of Chiles Concertacin coalition has been predictedoften over the past dozen years during which it has governed. Even thecoalitions leaders have issued premature announcements of its death(Latin America Adviser 2002; El Mercurio 2003a). Some observers ofChilean politics, therefore, might regard the dissolution of the Concertacinas both a foregone conclusion and an overdetermined event that is, as theproduct of so many factors, all working toward the same end, that it isimpossible to assign responsibility among them. We share the opinion thatthe Concertacin may well dissolve before Chiles next election, but not forthe reasons commonly cited. Our argument is based, instead, on thestructure of Chilean political careers, which in turn is connected inextricablywith Chiles unusual electoral rules.

Harbingers of the Concertacins demise point out that the Chileaneconomy has slowed somewhat since the coalitions early years ingovernment during the 1990s. Moreover, the coalition itself was initiallygalvanized around opposition to the Pinochet regime of the 1970s and1980s, so as time passes, the compelling force of that initial motivationmight naturally weaken. In addition, the Concertacin, and even its componentparties most notably the Christian Democrats are internally dividedover social issues, such as the legal status of divorce and access to birthcontrol. Finally, by the 2005 elections, the Concertacin will have held thepresidency and a majority in the Chamber of Deputies (the legislative houseelected by popular vote) for 16 years. By the standards of multipartycoalitions anywhere, much less among Latin Americas presidentialsystems, the Concertacin is geriatric, bearing the scars of miscellaneouscorruption charges against members, including the stripping ofparliamentary rights from five of the coalitions deputies in 2002, and thegeneral disillusionment that goes with holding the reins of power for solong. One might conclude, then, that the coalition is simply ready to expire.

Any of these forces, or some combination of them, could indeedundermine the Concertacin, but we do not regard these factors asnecessarily devastating to the coalitions survival for a number of reasons.In the first place, the Chilean economy has come through the last five yearsin far better shape than that of any of its Southern Cone neighbors, andemployment and growth figures rebounded in first months of 2003. TheConcertacin may well be in a position in 2005 to claim credit for goodeconomic stewardship. Next, many of the issues surrounding the non-democratic legacy of the Pinochet era including the renowned

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Cropsey, J.: Polity and Economy: An Interpretation of the Principles of Adam Smith.The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1957.

Darwall, S.: Empathy, Sympathy, and Care. En Philosophical Studies, 89: 261-282,1998.

Sympathetic Liberalism: Recent Work on Adam Smith. En Philosophy andPublic Affairs, 28: 139-164, 1999.

Den Uyl, D. J. y Charles L. Griswold, Jr.: Adam Smith on Friendship and Love. EnReview of Metaphysics, 49: 609-637, 1996.