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杰里米·本瑟姆——英国法学家、哲学家和社会改革家,几乎算不上是一位经济学家,虽然他对后来的经济思想有着巨大的影响。他赞同亚当·斯密的经济思想,但是不接受亚当·斯密的政治主张。斯密认为:通过竞争性市场“看不见的手”的调节,私人利益和社会利益可以自然协调。本瑟姆则把焦点集中在私人利益和社会利益的冲突上,尤其在非法活动中这种冲突不言而喻。他认为斯密的“利益趋同论”(harmony of interests)可能是合乎情理的,但是并不把它看作是人类行为的必然结果。因此,本瑟姆牦其毕生的大部分时间去设计能够产生斯密认为是理所当然的利益协调的社会制度。
Jeremy Bentham, a British jurist, philosopher and social reformer, is hardly an economist, though he has a huge influence on later economic thinking. He favors Adam Smith’s economic thinking, but does not accept Adam Smith’s political ideas. Smith believes that private interests and social interests can be naturally coordinated through the regulation of “invisible hands” in competitive markets. Bentham, on the other hand, has focused on the conflicts between private interests and social interests, which are self-evident, especially in the context of illegal activities. He believes Smith’s “harmony of interests” may be sensible, but does not see it as an inevitable consequence of human behavior. Thus, Benthamul spent much of his life devoting to designing a social system capable of producing a coordinated interest that Smith thought deserved.