What Is the Invisible Hand in Economics?

By Lee Samaha – Updated Dec 13, 2025 at 5:32 PM EST

Key Points

Adam Smith's "invisible hand" suggests self-interest in free markets aids the common good.
Critiques exist, yet historical shifts towards market economies show robust economic growth.
Investors might benefit from rising demand for commodities like copper, influenced by market forces.

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A man holding a tablet and stylus thinking. — Source: Getty Images

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Trending positive graph of China GDP growth between the years of 1995 through 2020. — Source: The Motley Fool Y Charts.

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This chart indicates how investors can prosper with a basic understanding of the power of free trade. One area that investors might consider is mining commodities, with copper being a good example. China is responsible for about 55% of global demand. With its economy continuing to grow, it’s likely to continue to increase its demand for industrial metals like copper.

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On the other side of the equation, it’s becoming increasingly hard to obtain mining permits due to regulation, environmentalist actions, and political obstacles. Because of this, collectivist action is limiting supply growth by the very “reason” and “design” that Hume and Ferguson alluded to. This is not the place to discuss the rights and wrongs of such developments, merely to note that the invisible hand of self-interest is not being allowed to work as it might in terms of supply while demand continues to grow.

Therefore, there’s reason to believe the prices of copper and other mining commodities could increase over the long term.

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About the Author

Lee Samaha is a contributing Stock Market Analyst at The Motley Fool covering industrials, electricals, energy, materials, transportation, and infrastructure stocks. Prior to The Motley Fool, Lee was a Civil Engineer and Investment Manager. He holds a Bachelor of Civil and Structural Engineering from Southampton University and a Certificate in Investment Management from Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. Lee first cut his investing teeth on The Motley Fool bulletin boards (commonly referred to as the “Fool Boards,”) and he’s infinitely grateful to all of the investors he learned from in this powerful investing community.

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