Conventionally, marketing activity is seen to occur in a market-directed economic system which is self-regulating; the market mechanism transforms private interests into public interest. The relevant theoretical underpinnings, characterized by Adam Smith's "invisible hand," are supposedly derived from classical economics. However, an analysis of the work of Smith and his contemporaries indicates that their conceptual models did not rely upon the completely free reign of self interest, but required a coexistent ethical system.
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