1、亞當·斯密理論：國富論
Adam Smith argues that actors in any economy will employ their capital in foreign trading only if the profits available by that method far exceed those available locally, and that in that case it is better for society as a whole that he does so.
But the annual revenue of every society is always precisely equal to the exchangeable value of the whole annual produce of its industry, or rather is precisely the same thing with that exchangeable value. As every individual, therefore, endeavors as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labors to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was not part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.
2、亞當·斯密理論：國富論之勞動力劃分
Smith states that the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labor, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is anywhere directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labor. To illustrate this, he describes the extensive division of labor within the “trifling” industry of pin manufacture, along with the astounding resultant productivity, and laborers’ dexterity; then leverages this as an introductory microcosm of the greater, yet less obvious division of labor in the broader economy. The advantages of this division are likely the driving force behind diversification of the trades and industry, and this diversification is greatest for nations with more industry and improvement. Agriculture is differentiated from industry for its comparative lack of division of labor, and the attendant lack of improved productivity; hence, while poor nations could not compete with rich nations in manufactures, they could compete in agriculture.
Smith lists three causes, arising from division, of improved productivity:
1.The laborer’s dexterity—due to specializing, year-round, in a specific task
2.Time not wasted passing from one task to the next—as in agriculture—as well as the more consistent and focused effort when working in just one area
3.The machines and tools that have evolved in conjunction with increasingly specialized labor
3、亞當1斯密理論：國富論之壟斷價格
A monopoly granted either to an individual or to a trading company has the same effect as a secret in trade or manufactures. The monopolists, by keeping the market constantly understocked, by never fully supplying the effectual demand, sell their commodities much above the natural price, and raise their emoluments, whether they consist in wages or profit, greatly above their natural rate. The price of monopoly is upon every occasion the highest which can be got. The natural price, or the price of free competition, on the contrary, is the lowest which can be taken, not upon every occasion, indeed, but for any considerable time together. The one is upon every occasion the highest which can be squeezed out of the buyers, or which, it is supposed, they will consent to give:the other is the lowest which the sellers can commonly afford to take, and at the same time continue their business.
4、經濟學家對國富論的解讀
The concept of the Invisible Hand is nearly always generalized beyond Smith’s original discussion of domestic versus foreign trade. Notice that the Invisible Hand is here considered a natural inclination, not yet a social mechanism.
Many economists claim that the theory of the Invisible Hand states that if each consumer is allowed to choose freely what to buy and each producer is allowed to choose freely what to sell and how to produce it, the market will settle on a product distribution and prices that are beneficial to the all individual members of a community, and hence to the community as a whole. The reason for this is that greed will drive actors to beneficial behavior. Efficient methods of production will be adopted in order to maximize profits. Low prices will be charged in order to undercut competitors. Investors will invest in those industries that are most urgently needed to maximize returns, and withdraw capital from those that are less efficient in creating value. Students will be guided to prepare for the most needed （and therefore most remunerative） careers. And all these effects will take place dynamically and automatically.
It also works as a balancing mechanism. For example, the inhabitants of a poor country will be willing to work very cheaply. Entrepreneurs can make great profits by building factories in poor countries. But since they increase the demand for labor, they will increase its price. And since the new producers will also become consumers, local businesses will have to hire more people in order to provide for them the things that they want to consume. As this process continues, the labor prices will eventually rise to the point at which there is no advantage for the foreign countries doing business in the formerly poor country. Overall, this mechanism will cause the local economy to function on its own.
5、經濟理論：看不見的手
There are two important features of Smith’s concept of the Invisible Hand. Firstly, Smith was not advocating a social policy （that people should act in their own self interest）, but rather was describing an observed economic reality （that people do act in their own interest）. Secondly, Smith was not claiming that all self-interest has beneficial effects on the community. He did not argue that self-interest was always good; he merely argued against the view that self-interest was necessarily bad. It is worth noting that, upon his death, Smith left much of his personal wealth to charity.
On another level, though, the Invisible Hand refers to the ability of the market to correct for seemingly disastrous situations with no intervention on the part of government or other organizations. For example, Smith said, if a product shortage were to occur, that product’s price in the market would rise, creating incentive for its production and a reduction in its consumption, eventually curing the shortage. The increased competition among manufacturers and increased supply would also lower the price of the product to its production cost plus a small profit, the “natural price.” Smith believed that while human motives were often selfish and greedy, the competition in the free market would tend to benefit society as a whole anyway.
6、亞當·斯密理論：看不見的手
A very simple real world example of how the Invisible Hand is supposed to work is the queue for a supermarket checkout. Each customer getting in line selfishly chooses to maximize his own interest, which is to check out in the shortest time, regardless of the other customers. Their utility maximizing choice is to get in queue in the shortest line; this means that eventually customers queue up in lines all of the same length. Therefore. even without the slightest direction and by following only their selfishness, the lines are all of the same length, which is clearly the most efficient disposition. （This example also illustrates the ties between economics and game theory.） Note that to reap these benefits, the market should at least exist—in the total absence of regulation; if people were allowed to cut the queue, the result of selfish pursuit of interests would be a crowded mess. Also, as this example also illustrates, economists have a particular understanding of efficiency. If a woman in the supermarket seeking to check out is pregnant, carrying a crying child who is diabetic and who needs to eat dinner in the shortest amount of time possible, then it may be more efficient to allow her to jump the queue.
7、對亞當·斯密“看不見的手”的批評
The Nobel Prize economist （2001）Joseph E. Stiglitz says: “The reason that the Invisible Hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.”
Stiglitz explains his position: Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, is often cited as arguing for the Invisible Hand and free markets. Forms, in the pursuit of profits, are led, as if by an Invisible Hand, to do what is best for the world. But unlike his followers, Adam Smith was aware of some of the limitations of free markets, and research since then has further clarified why free markets, by themselves, often do not lead to what is best. As I put it in my new book, Making Globalization Work, the reason that the Invisible Hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.
Whenever there are “externalities”—where the actions of an individual have impacts on others for which they do not pay or for which they are not compensated—markets will not work well. Some of the important instances have been long understood—environmental externalities. Markets, by themselves, will produce too much pollution. Markets, by themselves, will also produce too little basic research. （Remember, the government is responsible for financing most of the important scientific breakthroughs, including the internet and the first telegraph line, and most of the advances in bio-tech.）
Government plays an important role in banking and securities regulation, and a host of other areas: some regulation is required to make markets work. Government is needed, almost all would agree, at a minimum to enforce contracts and property rights. The real debate today is about finding the right balance between the market and government （and the third “sector”—non-governmental non-profit organizations.） Both are needed. They can each complement each other. This balance will differ from time to time and place to place.
8、達爾文的進化論
In 1838,Charles Darwin put together his Theory on Evolution. Darwin tried to prove his theory that man was the center of the world and not God. He believed that evolution was gradual on both humans and on organisms. Darwin believed in something called natural selection, meaning genes are to be passed on from one generation to the next. Darwin’s view on natural selection states that organisms tend to survive and reproduce as a function of their ability to adapt to the environment with less adaptable kinds of organisms diminishing. This eventually leads to extinction. Darwin’s idea of evolution contradicted the book of Genesis. He believed that humans and other species evolve from something that has always been, or by accident. This raised a specter of a purely materialistic cosmos, which was disturbing to the society as well as the Victorians.
Though many people could reconcile the fact of evolution with their religious beliefs, many were faith shaken. It was said that Darwin wasn’t an atheist, he was more described as an agnostic, meaning he renounced belief in some kind of personal God. A traveling Evangelist named Lady Hope stated that on Darwin’s deathbed, he renounced evolution and declared Christianity. No one will ever know if these accusations were true because Darwin died on April 19,1882,at the age of 73.
9、馬斯洛的需求層次理論
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. The theory can be summarized as thus:
1.Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behavior; only unsatis-fied needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs cannot.
2.Since needs are many, they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the complex.
3.The person that advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least minimally satisfied.
4.The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and psychological health a person will show.
5.The needs, listed from basic （lowest, earliest） to most complex （highest, latest） are as follows: Physiological, Safety and Security, Social, Self-Esteem, Self Actualization.
10、加德納理論：多重智力理論及七大智力
Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory originally contained seven intelligences, and defined intelligence as the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings. Since that time, Gardner has expanded his list to ten, following the addition of three more theoretical intelligences. His theory has revolutionized the methods in which children are taught, and spawned new methods of recognizing an individual’s cognitive abilities.
Linguistic, or verbal, intelligence is identified as the first of the seven intelligences. Children with this kind of intelligence enjoy reading, writing, or other creative tasks such as story telling or crossword puzzles. These children will be exceptionally apt at understanding the order and meaning of words, persuading others, and more easily recognizing and utilizing the humorous aspects of language.
A compliment to those with verbal intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence includes various abilities such as inductive and deductive reasoning, numbers and relationships, and patterns. Children with this gift will exhibit an interest in strategy games, patterns, and experiments. People with this gift also display an incredibly rapid process of problem solving. They may cope with many variables at once and create numerous hypotheses. In the same process, all hypotheses will be quickly evaluated, then accepted or rejected in turn. This intelligence is also considered the archetype of law intelligence or problem solving faculty that cuts across domains.
Before the introduction of advanced navigational systems, sailors steered their course by position of the stars, weather patterns, and water color. These seafarers had the gift of spatial intelligence. They had the ability to envision the position of certain islands and landmasses as reference points. They could not physically see the landmarks, but formulated a mental picture of their journey. People with spatial intelligence think in images and pictures. Individuals gifted in this area can easily find their way in unfamiliar spaces and express talent in graphic representation. Students with this quality excel in geometry, trigonometry, and architecture due to their ability to recognize relationships of objects in space and to accurately perceive figures from different angle.
Musical intelligence is easily recognized, especially in young children. Musical prodigies abound in our society as evidenced by the young Yehudi Menuhin in the late 1970s. He witnessed a performance of the San Francisco Orchestra at three years old. He demanded a violin for his birthday, received it, and became an international performer by the age of ten. Children of musical intelligence display a mature appreciation of music early in their childhood. They are sensitive to sound, usually aware of some sounds others may miss, and these children are seen frequently drumming or singing to themselves. Sensing characteristics of a tone and easy reproduction of melodies or rhythm are also distinguishable characteristics of musically intelligent individuals.
Many athletes exhibit the quality of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. This particular aspect of the multiple intelligence theory may not contain the cognitive processes of the other intelligences, but there exists a clearly defined developmental series in young children. This development schedule qualifies bodily-kinesthetic knowledge as intelligence. This intelligence may take longer to expose itself, but once it surfaces, the gifted individuals are often athletic, dancers, or exhibit excellent manual dexterity, as in crafts, woodworking, or sewing.