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Speaking of Smith Archives

Adam Smith and the Tyranny of the Self

October 18, 2022

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"Liberals, as believers in individual rights, should oppose all institutions and constructs that inhibit the flourishing of the individuals. What, then, of the tyranny of the self?"

The British East India Company: A Case About Sovereignty

October 12, 2022


Is the British East India Company an example of why monopolies are bad or is it really about irresponsible sovereigns? Jon Murphy puts the debates in context. 

Dear Adam Smith: Entrepreneur Inquiring

October 4, 2022


Hire a partner or a part-time employee? Adam Smith is here to help a craft soap maker clean up her thinking on a murky choice. 

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment Part 6: Doing Cosmopolitan History

September 29, 2022


Enlightenment ideas and methods come for the historians. Chronological and eye-witness accounts are out and empirical data, statistics, source criticism, and footnotes are in. Learn more about these and other changes in Part 6 of Willis' #ReadWithMe on Ritchie Robertson's The Enlightenment.

Adam Smith Escape Room

September 27, 2022


High School teachers who teach Adam Smith are already going beyond the requirements. Add the Adam Smith Escape Room to your list of activities to take your students beyond the ordinary as well. 

Hanley's Great Purpose: Correct Misconceptions about Smith

September 22, 2022


Looking for a good book to read or gift on Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments? This might be the one for you. 

Invisible Hearts: More Economics Than Romance

September 21, 2022


More readable than many textbooks, more accessible than classical texts! But NOT a guide to modern courtship or persuasion.  

#ReadWithMe: Ritchie Robertson’s The Enlightenment Part 5: Practical Enlighteners

 September 15, 2022


How are (and were!) the forces of commerce to be used to the best advantage of all people? In part, with improvements in agriculture, medicine, and more. Amy Willis continues her adventures reading Ritchie Robertson's The Enlightenment.   

A Skeptic's Guide to the Perfect Commonwealth

September 8, 2022


Hume’s plan for the perfect commonwealth is elaborate and probably impossible to implement but he gives us much to think about how divided powers might work to serve the good of the people. 

Erik Matson on the Smith Questionnaire

September 7, 2022


Erik Matson joins us on the Smith Questionnaire. He chats about fixing the misconception of Smith as an amoral advocate of markets, why dogs are superior to cats, and a recent paper on Smith. 

Hidden Revolutionaries: Tristram Shandy and Adam Smith

September 1, 2022


Modern readers can easily forget how revolutionary ideas from the past were. Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (and James E. Hartley) are here to remind you. 

What Would Adam Smith Think: Will US Savings Catalyze Investment?

August 29, 2022


We saw increased savings and decreased spending BUT will that led to the long-term growth we're used to seeing? Or is our current economic situation fundamentally different?