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Visual Arts Research Volume 48, Number 1 Summer 2022 17 An Astonishing Visibility: Rebecca Zorach Northwestern University The Invisible Hand and the Visible Fist; Or, Enlightenment, Aesthetics, and Police This essay takes as a starting point the modern influence of Scottish philosopher Adam Smith’s notion of the “invisible hand” in economics, and its relationship to police and policing, to trace the power relationships and aesthetic theories embedded in both in their 18th-century origins. Smith repeatedly frames the concept of the invisible hand in aesthetic terms, as does (in a different way) his devotee, neoliberal evangelist Milton Friedman. He also connects it at the outset with the then-current definition of the word “police” as both political order and refinement (etymologically connected to “polish”). An archaeology of both concepts leads to a final question: To what extent does our cur - rent understanding of “art” require a kind of order that can only come from “police”? KEYWORDS: Police, invisible hand, Adam Smith, Enlightenment, economics, aes- thetics The perfection of police, the extension of trade and manufactures, are noble and mag - nificent objects. —Adam Smith (1759/1761, p. 275) Should you be alone, and arrive by chance among an unknown people, if
Visual Arts Research – University of Illinois Press
Published: May 26, 2022
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