The other invisible hand. The social and economic effects of theodicy in Vico and Genovesi
Bruni,Luigino Santori,Paolo
Bruni,Luigino
Santori,Paolo
Abstract
This paper explores the implications for modern economic thought of the debate on Theodicy, i.e., the coexistence of a good, almighty God and worldly evils. In the 17th century, this problem was raised by Pierre Bayle. The analysis focuses on the 18th century Italian school of Civil economy represented by Antonio Genovesi. Our argument is that Genovesi, and Giambattista Vico before him, reacted to Bayle's Manichaean and Atheistic view on theodicy, and that Genovesi's reaction influenced his view of the market as a place of mutual assistance where the invisible hand holds a secondary and subsidiary role compared to virtues in promoting the common good.
Description
Funding Information: We are grateful to the two anonymous referees for their comments and feedback. The quality and clarity of the argumentation improved after the peer-review process. About this, we would like to express our gratitude also to the editor Richard Sturn for his competence and accuracy. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Date
2022-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Civil economy, Vico, Genovesi, Bayle, Theodicy, Political-economy, Smith, Adam, Theology, Science
Citation
Bruni, L & Santori, P 2022, 'The other invisible hand. The social and economic effects of theodicy in Vico and Genovesi', European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 548-566. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672567.2022.2048677