Histoire de l'internationalisme

LA NOUVELLE SCIENCE DE L'ÉCONOMIE POLITIQUE
partie d'un groupe, tout d'abord de la famille, ensuite de la patrie.
Il souligne avec force la valeur intrinsèque du patriotisme et déclare
à ce sujet dans son livre ,, Theory of Moral Sentiments ": ,, The love
of our country seems not to be derived from the love of mankind. The
former sentiment is altogether independent of the latter, and seems
sometimes even to dispose us to act inconsistently %vith it. France,
may contain, perhaps, near three times the number of inhabitants
which Great Britain contains. In the great societj^ of mankind, therefore,
the prosperity of France should appear to be an object of much
greater importance than that of Great Britain. The British subject,
however, who upon that account should prefer on ail occasions the
prosperity of the former to that of tlie latter country, would not be
thought a good citizen of Great Britain. We do not love our country
merely as a part of the great society of mankind, we love it for its own
sake, and independently of any such considération ". Dans cette
question, Adam Smith adopte une attitude qui est à l'opposé de celle
de Tucker qui, lui, expose son point de vue sur le patriotisme de la
façon suivante : ,, The love of country hath no place in the catalogue
of Christian virtues. The love of country is, in fact, a local affection
and a partial attachment : but the Christian covenant is gênerai, comprehending
ail mankind within its embraces ".^ Toutefois Adam Smith
se rend en même temps compte du danger que représente également
dans le domaine économique un nationahsme à outrance. Il blâme
surtout la jalousie et l'envie dans les rapports entre nations. Il écrit
à ce propos au sujet des relations franco-britanniques : ,, it is beneatli
the dignity of two such great nations to envy the internai happiness
and prosperity of the other, the cultivation of its lands, the advancements
of its manufactures, the increase of its commerce, the security
and number of its ports and harbours, and its proficiency in ail the
arts and sciences ".^
Le point de vue national demeure cependant aussi le critère es-
sentiel de ses jugements dans son ouvrage ])rincipal ,, The wealth of
Nations ". On peut même déclarer que de bien des façons ce point de
330
' Voir Walter E. Clabk, Josiah Tuckor, Economist p. 169.
' J. Shield Nicholson, a Project of Empire, London 190!), p. 10.