The Authentic Adam Smith: His Life and Ideas
Adam Smith (1723-1790) has been adopted by neoconservatives as the ideological father of unregulated business and small government. His "invisible hand" has become a commanding shorthand for politicians promoting laissez-faire economics, but Smith never used it in reference to free-market capitalism. Smith was a deeply moral man who considered himself a philosopher, not an economist. Drawing on twenty-five years of research, James Buchan renders an Adam Smith untainted by political and...
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Celebrated author James Buchan on the widely known—but often misread—Scottish philosopher Adam Smith. Library Journal If he is thought of at all today, Adam Smith is remembered as an early economic theorist. The reality is that Smith was a philosopher, and his seminal work, The Wealth of Nations (which launched the field of economics), stemmed from his investigations of moral philosophy. In this brief biography, novelist and historian Buchan places Smith's book in context with his other works, his teaching, personal life, and his contemporaries (e.g., David Hume). Buchan provides chapter-long critical examinations of both The Wealth of Nations and Smith's other major work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, an extension of moral inquiry into the world of fashion and manners. Buchan also debunks the myth surrounding the term invisible hand and sheds some light on Smith's lost works. Though the book is brief, Buchan covers the salient points of Smith's life and includes many excerpts from his letters and publications. This foray into Smith's philosophical ideas and 18th-century intellectual life requires some background and would best serve academic libraries.-Lawrence R. Maxted, Gannon Univ., Erie, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
List of Abbreviations and References viiIntroduction 1Fatherless World 1723-1746 11Cave, Tree, Fountain 1746-1759 29Pen-knives and Snuff-boxes 1759 51Infidel with a Bag Wig 1759-1776 65Baboons in the Orchard 1776 92The Forlorn Station 1776-1790 121Notes 146
\ Library JournalIf he is thought of at all today, Adam Smith is remembered as an early economic theorist. The reality is that Smith was a philosopher, and his seminal work, The Wealth of Nations (which launched the field of economics), stemmed from his investigations of moral philosophy. In this brief biography, novelist and historian Buchan places Smith's book in context with his other works, his teaching, personal life, and his contemporaries (e.g., David Hume). Buchan provides chapter-long critical examinations of both The Wealth of Nations and Smith's other major work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, an extension of moral inquiry into the world of fashion and manners. Buchan also debunks the myth surrounding the term invisible hand and sheds some light on Smith's lost works. Though the book is brief, Buchan covers the salient points of Smith's life and includes many excerpts from his letters and publications. This foray into Smith's philosophical ideas and 18th-century intellectual life requires some background and would best serve academic libraries.-Lawrence R. Maxted, Gannon Univ., Erie, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \
