The Visible Hand Project | Center for Constitutional Studies

The Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University has launched the Visible Hand Project, which offers free, nonpartisan, civic education to Utah businesses and their employees.

Overview

This project arose in response to rising division, distrust, and contempt in our public discourse as we approach the 2024 election season.

Adam Smith’s invisible hand describes the unseen forces of self-interest that impact our free-market economy. While navigating these dynamics, business leaders can be among our state’s strongest civic leaders by not only choosing but also intentionally promoting civic wellness for the good of our community.

In many ways, employers are the leaders to mitigate these threats to American civic wellness, “since workplaces are the one place where all races, religions, and ages congregate and need to get along.” Businesses with civic-minded cultures influence employees in their personal lives by encouraging a mindset of bridging divides and fostering understanding.

To that end, the Visible Hand offers online or in-person sessions that last for one hour. Employers can arrange one meeting or a set of three. Each would be selected from our course-offering list. This opportunity will help individuals engage more meaningfully in the democratic process and allow us to better “keep our republic,” as Benjamin Franklin encouraged new Americans to do.

Course Offerings & Presenters

Find a list of course offerings and presenters here.

Town Hall

Civic Virtue

About the Visible Hand Project

The Visible Hand Project draws its inspiration from both George Washington (above) and Adam Smith (below) in inviting business leaders to model civic virtue for their employees and in the community.

While Adam Smith suggested that an invisible hand drives the free market with self-interest, George Washington called for civic virtue, a visible means for putting the good of the community ahead of one's own interests.

Washington could have been king, but he instead worked to strengthen the power of the Legislative branch, even though Congress was often frustrating to him. He believed in promoting confidence in government by the people.

Smith's invisible hand is alive and well today in the economic forces that move our nation forward, and business leaders can follow Washington's visible means to bring their employees together to harness multiple perspectives toward healthy engagement in the political and governing process.

Adam Smith