Self-Interest and Global Market

Smith's advocacy of inter-national free trade implicitly entails the concept of a world community, thereby transcending the prior predominating Nationalist scope of not only Mercantilist Economics, but of Political Philosophy, as well.  At the same time, he undermines the concept of the Citizen-Nation relation that he shares with the latter.  According to that concept, pioneered by Hobbes, and adopted by his successors, the relation is that of Individual-Totality antagonism, which is typically resolved in favor of the latter.  Despite appearances, Smith is no exception--his argument that a wealthy nation is personally beneficial to a citizen, and, hence, is in their self-interest, is essentially the same as Hobbes' defense of a Leviathan.  However, Individuality is a characteristic of each and every person, so if there is a Totality of such Individuals, it is one that transcends Nationality.  Thus, by introducing the concept of a World community, Smith also broaches the reality of that transcendence, thereby undermining not only the Citizen-Nation dynamic at the heart of traditional Political Philosophy, but of his own Economic model, as well. In other words, he fails to consider that his inter-nationalism at the same time locates the self-interested Economic player in that global market, promoting the wealth of all nations, and not necessarily that of their local market.