Abstract
Lisa Herzog’s article examines how Adam Smith and G. W. F. Hegel conceptualize the identity of workers in a market economy. Although both see human beings as shaped in and through social relationships, the relation between the worker and his or her work is seen by them differently. For Smith, workers “have” human capital, while for Hegel workers “are” brewers, butchers or bakers; their profession is part of their identity. This conceptual difference, which is reflected in different “varieties of capitalism” today, shows that not only degrees, but also kinds of embeddedness should be distinguished when debating the relationships between individual and society. Before the article there is an Introduction by the translators.
Keywords
labour market; human capital; Adam Smith; Hegel