Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy

Ryan Hanley

Princeton University Press, Jan 12, 2016 - Business & Economics - 600 pages

The essential guide to the life, thought, and legacy of Adam Smith

Adam Smith (1723–90) is perhaps best known as one of the first champions of the free market and is widely regarded as the founding father of capitalism. From his ideas about the promise and pitfalls of globalization to his steadfast belief in the preservation of human dignity, his work is as relevant today as it was in the eighteenth century. Here, Ryan Hanley brings together some of the world's finest scholars from across a variety of disciplines to offer new perspectives on Smith's life, thought, and enduring legacy.

Contributors provide succinct and accessible discussions of Smith's landmark works and the historical context in which he wrote them, the core concepts of Smith's social vision, and the lasting impact of Smith's ideas in both academia and the broader world. They reveal other sides of Smith beyond the familiar portrayal of him as the author of the invisible hand, emphasizing his deep interests in such fields as rhetoric, ethics, and jurisprudence. Smith emerges not just as a champion of free markets but also as a thinker whose unique perspective encompasses broader commitments to virtue, justice, equality, and freedom.

An essential introduction to Adam Smith's life and work, this incisive and thought-provoking book features contributions from leading figures such as Nicholas Phillipson, Amartya Sen, and John C. Bogle. It demonstrates how Smith's timeless insights speak to contemporary concerns such as growth in the developing world and the future of free trade, and how his influence extends to fields ranging from literature and philosophy to religion and law.

Contents

• THE BIOGRAPHY OF ADAM SMITH: 3
• THE LECTURES ON RHETORIC AND BELLES LETTRES: 17
• THE THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS: 33
• THE LECTURES ON JURISPRUDENCE: 48
• THE WEALTH OF NATIONS: 67
• THE ESSAYS ON PHILOSOPHICAL SUBJECTS: 89
• SMITH AND THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT: 105
• ADAM SMITH ON LIVING A LIFE: 123
• SELF INTEREST AND THE VIRTUES: 138
• ADAM SMITH ON EQUALITY: 157
• ADAM SMITH ON JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE: 173
• ADAM SMITH AND THE SYMPATHETIC IMAGINATION: 192
• ADAM SMITH ON FREEDOM: 208
• ADAM SMITH AND MODERN ECONOMICS: 231
• ADAM SMITH AND THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC: 247
• ADAM SMITH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: 281
• ADAM SMITH AND RELIGION: 305
• ADAM SMITH AND POLITICAL THEORY: 321
• ADAM SMITH AND MODERN ETHICS: 340
• SYMPATHY: 354
• RESENTMENT: 371
• ADAM SMITH AND RHETORIC: 387
• ADAM SMITHS NARRATIVE LINE: 405
• ADAM SMITH AND THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: 422
• ADAM SMITH AND ENLIGHTENMENT STUDIES: 443
• SOME POPULAR USES AND ABUSES: 461
• ADAM SMITH AND THE LEFT: 478
• ADAM SMITH AND THE RIGHT: 494
• FROM IDEOLOGY: 512
• ADAM SMITH AND SHAREHOLDER CAPITALISM: 525
• ADAM SMITH AND FREE TRADE: 542
• Index: 559

About the author

Ryan Patrick Hanley holds the Mellon Distinguished Professorship in Political Science at Marquette University. He is the author of Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue and the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy
• Editor: Ryan Hanley
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2016
• ISBN: 0691154058, 9780691154053
• Length: 600 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Political; Business & Economics / Economic History; Philosophy / History & Surveys / General; Philosophy / Political; Political Science / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism; Political Science / History & Theory