The Theory of Moral Sentiments · Chapter
II: Of the Order in Which Societies Are by Nature Recommended to Our Beneficence explained
This chapter explores how the same principles that guide our beneficence toward individuals also extend to societies, with the state or sovereignty being the most strongly recommended due to its importance and our personal connections to it
What happens
This chapter explores how the same principles that guide our beneficence toward individuals also extend to societies, with the state or sovereignty being the most strongly recommended due to its importance and our personal connections to it. It discusses patriotism, the impartial spectator's perspective on self-sacrifice, the detestability of treason, national prejudice, and the dynamics of civil faction versus foreign war. It also contrasts the 'man of system' who rigidly imposes ideal plans with the truly public-spirited reformer who respects established institutions and prejudices, and examines the role of different orders and societies within a state in maintaining constitutional stability.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Love and the Social Order
The chapter examines how self-love and private benevolent affections naturally endear the state to individuals, while also showing how national prejudice and the love of one's own country can lead to conflict with other nations.
The Impartial Spectator
The patriot who sacrifices his life is described as viewing himself through the eyes of the impartial spectator, who sees him as no more important than any other individual, justifying the sacrifice for the greater good.
Justice as the Pillar of Society vs. Beneficence as Ornament
The chapter contrasts the 'man of system' who rigidly imposes ideal plans without regard for established rights and prejudices, with the truly public-spirited reformer who respects existing institutions and seeks to moderate rather than annihilate, highlighting the tension between justice and beneficence in governance.
Characters to notice
- Cato
Cato the Elder is cited for his repeated declaration that 'Carthage ought to be destroyed,' exemplifying a savage patriotism rooted in national prejudice.
- Scipio Nasica
Scipio Nasica is noted for his more humane and enlightened view that 'Carthage ought not to be destroyed,' representing a liberal and enlarged mind.
- Cicero
Cicero is referenced for his endorsement of Plato's divine maxim: never to use violence against one's country, as a guide for the public-spirited reformer.
- Plato
Plato's maxim against using violence to one's country is cited as a foundational principle for the truly public-spirited legislator.
- Solon
Solon is mentioned as an example of a wise reformer who, unable to establish the best system, established the best that the people could bear.
Key passages
“The state or sovereignty in which we have been born and educated, and under the protection of which we continue to live, is, in ordinary cases, the greatest society upon whose happiness or misery our good or bad conduct can have much influence.”
The nation where we are born, raised, and protected is typically the largest community whose well-being our actions can significantly affect.
This establishes the primary object of our public beneficence as the state itself.
“The patriot who lays down his life for the safety, or even for the vainglory of this society, appears to act with the most exact propriety.”
A patriot who sacrifices his life for his country's safety or even its empty glory seems to behave with perfect moral correctness.
Highlights the moral admiration for self-sacrifice in the service of the nation.
“The love of our own nation often disposes us to view, with the most malignant jealousy and envy, the prosperity and aggrandisement of any other neighbouring nation.”
Patriotism frequently leads us to regard the success and growth of neighboring countries with bitter jealousy and envy.
Describes the dark side of national loyalty, leading to prejudice and conflict.
“The man of system, on the contrary, is apt to be very wise in his own conceit: and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it.”
In contrast, the systematic thinker is often overly self-assured and so captivated by the imagined perfection of his own political blueprint that he tolerates no departure from it.
Critiques the rigid, top-down approach to reform that ignores human realities.
“He will accommodate, as well as he can, his public arrangements to the confirmed habits and prejudices of the people; and will remedy, as well as he can, the inconveniencies which may flow from the want of those regulations which the people are averse to submit to.”
He will adapt his policies as much as possible to the established customs and biases of the populace, and will address the problems arising from the absence of rules that people resist.
Describes the prudent, gradual approach of the truly public-spirited reformer.
