He did not make a distinction between the different classes of men, but believed that all men look for happiness, which included action and pleasure.
Hume's historical viewpoint included the realization that changes in economic life resulting from the expansion of trade carried with them changed demands on the entire population, and in the case of the workers, these demands would be met only if there was enough motivation. Workers, like other men, would only assume their responsibilities if guaranteed adequate reward, which as with the middle class will produce increased desire. With an expectation of a better future, men would exert themselves.
In opposition to his colleagues, Hume argued that the lower classes were equals of all men and that the betterment of society was based upon satisfying of the needs of the poor. He stressed that a developing society depended on the material happiness of its workers. For if the poor were treated as dissenters against civilized values, their punishment would just add to their discontent and lack of work. In stressing that the lower classes did not respond to the demands of the middle class due to the lack of incentives, Hume encouraged another way to view the poors' motivation, and a new economic policy based on the working laborer.
As Viner noted in Studies in the Theory of International Trade:
After Hume and Smith...
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