ADAM SMITH’S ENLIGHTENED WORLD

Commerce, morality, equality, the rule of law, and the role of government… Welcome to the world of Adam Smith.

What can we learn about our own world from Smith? Join the workers in an 18th century pin factory to find out more…

Interactive Pin Factory

Listen to the latest podcast episodes with full show notes and transcripts.

The Great Antidote

Speaking of Smith is a blog that explores the ideas, legacy, and relevance of Adam Smith.

Speaking of Smith

Latest

Three Modes of Patriotism

October 23, 2024 According to Adam Smith, not all patriotism is bad but some kinds are. Matson names two forms that Smith disapproves of: the patriotism of national jealousy and the patriotism of radical opposition. "The true patriot, on Smith’s view, pursues partnership in commerce with the nations when possible... [Smith's vision of patriotism] balances the impulse to reform and improve with the need to preserve and protect the flower of civilization where it grows."

Adam Smith, Hugo Grotius, and International Law

The law of nations served as guide for the behavior of leaders of state by stating the basic rules of international conduct. Even when leaders did not comply, they were useful as a moral yardstick.

Samuel Gregg on National Security and Industrial Policy

Picture a policy conversation, perhaps in Washington, about national security. Who’s sitting around the table? It might be the President, national security advisors, military personnel, or generals, but not economists. And yet, national security is often used as a reason to intervene into the economy. At the mention of national security, it seems economists often shut their mouths and run away (or hide under a rock, or something). But why? How should economists think about and engage with concerns about national security?

Extras: Henry C. Clark on Growth

When economists talk about "growth" they often mean it in a specific and positive way but the idea of "growth" is much bigger than that and we can ask big questions worthy of the topic. Alice Temnick gets us started.

Explore.

An Animal That Trades

A five-part short video series on the life and contemporary relevance of Adam Smith.

Learn.

Smith’s Dreams: Economic and Political Liberties in a Good Polity

October 15, 2024 Silvestri & Walraevens offer commentary on Adam Smith's "Great Dream of Good Government" using both Lectures on Jurisprudence, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and The Wealth of Nations.

The British East India Company: Hero of Free Trade?

December 7, 2022 Over two centuries, the arguments of corporations for monopoly “remained remarkably static,” but the experience of the corporations brought to bear in the debate “certain moments of conceptual innovation that trading corporations spurred and shaped.”

Teach.

Activity: Can we expect free trade?

Use this quotation from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to prompt a discussion of how likely it is that any country will ever have completely free trade.

Pins, Pencils, and the Invisible Hand

Explore a pin factory with Adam Smith and contemplate the creation of the humble pencil to understand better how markets and prices help people coordinate their economic activity.

AdamSmithWorks Lesson Plans

Original, classroom-ready activities to use with your students TODAY.

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Essays on Philosophical Subjects

Reflecting Adam Smith’s wide learning and varied interests, these essays shed considerable light on his place in the Scottish Enlightenment. Included are histories of astronomy, ancient logic, and ancient physics; essays on the “imitative” arts and the affinity between music, dancing, and poetry; and a critical review of Samuel Johnson’s famous Dictionary, which Smith originally published in the Edinburgh Review (1755–1756).