Invisible Hands

“Am I a man dreaming I am a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming I am a man?” – Chang Tsu

Right now I identify this thought in a different light; how much control over my reality do I have at this particular moment? Am I living the dream or is that dream living me? I feel an abundance of self. An abundance of those in my life and an abundance of what the Universe has to offer. I feel guided through life almost to the point that the Universe is testing my limit of how much is too much?

In his book, “Wealth of Nations” Adam Smith discusses the theory of the Invisible Hand which summarily 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 entire community. The reason for this is that greed will drive actors to beneficial behavior.

This theory as discussed by William Godwin extends it even further to the idea that the Invisible Hand also extends into the lives of the individual; depending on our individual needs we gravitate to a position which is beneficial to ourselves and those we are responsible to. The hand is the nudge of natural order which Godwin firmly believed in.

William Godwin is considered among of the first of the Utilitarianism and Miniarchism movements. Utilitarianism is the foundation for his thought on natural order. Miniarchism was his thought on large governments which make natural order impossible. For this, he was considered an Anarchist and to a degree he was. He knew that once stripped of structure we would find our natural order and destiny would manifest itself. He also understood though that what manifests may not always be positive, “Above all we should not forget, that government is an evil, an usurpation upon the private judgment and individual conscience of mankind; and that, however we may be obliged to admit it as a necessary evil for the present. . . ”

An interesting fact about Godwin; did you know he is Mary Shelly’s father? Of course I assume you know she wrote “Frankenstein”. In fact a good manifestation of that above quote can be seen in the behavior of Victor Frankenstein; when left to our own devices we can create magnificent monsters of enduring savagery. It can also be seen in the actions of the monster; when in a position of power it is on us to guide others without expectation of acknowledgment. It is our responsibility to be the Invisible Hand. If you recall in those moments when the monster wasn’t exacting his revenge, he was helping the people of a neighboring village. They didn’t know it was him though; he was their invisible hand. His was also the invisible hand that guided Victor to his destiny.