Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus met and discussed the "Invisible Hand". I wrote this fiction as a part of an assignment while attending a creative writing program at Wesleyan University in 2017 wishing and imagining a meeting of the giants.
It is the summer of 1800 in Scotland. This is the first meeting between Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus, who lives in Surrey and wanted to visit his mentor and opponent. Smith’s book ‘Wealth of Nations published in 1766 is an international sensation. Malthus is stirring controversy with his essays on the principle of population. Though both men had an appreciation for each other they differ on their opinion about the invisible hand, an idea coined by Smith regarding the forces of nature, which benefit the selfish. Malthus believes that the state should intervene and balance the extremities, while Smith believes that government interference is injurious.
“Lovely weather isn’t it,” says Smith. “Is it like this in mid-July?”, asked Malthus. “It does not get this hot, but it seems like near 30 degrees today. The weather can never kill us, it’s the politicians”, smirked Smith. He knew he had an advantage over Malthus. He was more popular, elder, and the one who started the revolution. Malthus politely lifts his rot iron chair and places the sun at his back as both men sit around the round tripod table with a square embroidered cloth and a small vase with a stub of Azaleas looking quietly at the two giants of economics.
Smith had bulging eyes, a large nose, a nervous twitch, a protruding lower lip, and a speech impediment. His countenance was manly and agreeable. Malthus was tall and good-looking, but with a cleft lip and palate. The cleft palate affected his speech. Malthus was not there to tell Smith that he was wrong. He wanted to pay homage to the great man. Smith was bordering the age, where he would be lucky if he had a solid decade to research. The man had written and prevailed, and stood like a mountain above his peers.
“Tell me Sir, Thomas, where should we begin. I know you want to talk to me about the invisible hand and how it’s so important even though nobody can see it”, Smith pauses to pour himself some Darjeeling herb tea in the Venetian cups. He pours for Malthus too, extending the courtesy of his company. “I am not here for an academic debate, I am looking for answers myself”. “Thinking can be so consuming and when you throw in something as abstract as an invisible hand, it becomes harder to reason”, quipped Malthus.
A boy with more bunches of Azaleas approached the duo, springing with life. Tan face, two feet tall, barefoot, sparkling white teeth and smelling fresh like the flowers he was carrying. “Hello gentlemen, care for some flowers for your ladies, 3 shillings a bunch.”, he said as he looked straight into Malthus’s eyes. Malthus waved his hand as if brushing off a fly from his sleeve. “You see Sir, Malthus, it is boys like these that have the most to gain from the invisible hand”, continued Smith. “How’s is that?”, questioned Malthus. He was still thinking about the Smithian abstraction that threw a spanner, damaging the philosophical structure, he spent most of his life, believing and developing.
“You see, this boy may seem to have no future, no career, but he can still benefit from the chance that is created by the invisible hand. As elements of a social system interact the biggest beneficiaries are the ones who don’t have anything. How you approach the subject is also for the benefit of this poor boy and the invisible hand does the same. We are just approaching it differently. You believe the state intervention is helpful and I think they are a bunch of idiots.” Smith paused as if unaware of the boy standing there, adding him as an element in his abstraction. “This boy does not have the time to wait for the invisible hand to work for him. He needs to feed himself by selling his flowers. His presence is more important than the future and his present needs the state not the invisible hand in the future”
“What are you debating about, gentlemen”, interrupts the boy. “I may look poor, but I have character, I have energy, I can jump more than you, I have a higher chance to outlive both of you. I may be selling flowers today, but I am not going to do this every day. I have visible hands you see. I don’t need no state to help me”, he stretches his arms, showing his time spent playing in the Water of the Leith. “Good luck ladies”, he smiles and struts away leaving behind two awkward looking man, breaking their stomachs with laughter.