AdamSmithWorks Essays: Top Ten

When we try to examine whether our conduct is as it should be, Adam Smith suggests that we imagine what others (particularly, virtuous others) might think of what we do. An idea like the impartial spectator or a conversation with a friend can also help guide us. 

Whether any particular action is popular or ignored is not the only guide but it can be useful to consider. And the character of a website or a group of people can develop over time just as a person’s character does.

As we learn about ourselves and share the work of our authors with others, we hope you will continue to learn and grow with us. 

AdamSmithWorks has been posting original Smith-related essays for over three years. Which ones have gotten the most attention in these years? Find out here. 

1. Steven Horwitz’s Adam Smith on the Labor Theory of Value
If you like this one be sure to check out Horwitz’s Seeing the Invisible Bridge in Adam Smith and Spontaneous Order in Adam Smith.

2. Jack Russell Weinstein’s Adam Smith on Slavery
Weinstein also writes about Adam Smith on Education: Schooling and Socialization and Acculturation. (If you’re really into arithmetic, “Schooling” would be in the Top 15.)

3. Michael Munger’s Division of Labor, Part 1
Be sure to also check out Part 2 and Part 3.

4. Peter Foster’s Adam Smith's Invisible Hand

For more on Smith’s “invisible hand,” we have videos, comics, lesson plans, and several more essays!

5. Pedro Schwartz’s What Karl Marx Did and Did Not See in Adam Smith

For more from Schwarz minus the Marx, we have Hume's Guillotine.

For more on Smith and Marx, we’ve also got Giandomenica Becchio and Isadore Johnson.

6. Aeon J. Skoble’s Smith and Locke on Property

For fun and pop culture, Skoble also wrote about what happens when Adam Smith goes to see Marvel’s The Avengers

7. Lauren Hall’s Self Interest Rightly Understood

Another great essay by Hall is Adam Smith, Sympathy, and Spontaneous Social-Moral Order. (I seriously considered making this a Top Twelve list so I could highlight it.) Hall and Jack Russell Weinstein are the only two authors who come close to being in the Top Ten twice. 

8. Jerry Z. Muller’s Review: Muller on Soll's Free Market: The History of an Idea

(Jacob Soll responded here)

9. Erik W. Matson’s A Brief History of the Editions of TMS: Part 2

(Part 1 is also very popular!)

10. Samuel Fleischacker’s Adam Smith on Religion
We actually have an AdamSmithWorks essay section on Theology and Religion if you want more like this. 

Do you like lists? We have more. Here's just a few more favorites.
Speaking of Smith: Top Ten Posts
Suggested Reading: ASW Bibliographies
Podcast list lovingly curated for our lovely AdamSmithWorks audience
The Women of the Smith Questionnaire