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 18^th century pin factory to find out more…

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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

Adam Smith Versus the Physiocrats: British Empiricism Versus French Rationalism

July 10, 2025 "[Smith's] method endures because it aligns with human complexity. It withstands ideological fads because it reflects the world we live in."

Adam Smith and the Natural Law: The Impartial Spectator, Synderesis, and Moral Judgment Properly Understood

June 25, 2025 Synderesis, the "spark of conscience," provides a useful way to think about Adam Smith's impartial spectator, and supports a grounding of natural law in common law principles.

Extra: Brad Wilcox on Get Married

How is commitment to an education or work different from commitment to another person? Anna Leman as this and other questions after giving Brad Wilcox and Juliette Sellgren's conversation a listen. What questions do YOU have?

Extra: Ryan Streeter on Cultural Communities and the Civitas Institute

Anna Leman listens in to a Great Antidote about saying "yes" even when "no" is easy and familiar.

Explore.

An Animal That Trades

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

The Smith Questionnaire

The Smith Questionnaire Watch as we subject some of our favorite scholars to some silly questions about Smith.

Learn.

Adam Abducted

March 3, 2025 Doug Curtis and Jeremy Lott are back at AdamSmithWorks illustrating a colorful event from Adam Smith early years.

Why Read Adam Smith Today? Enduring Insight

After a year-long celebration of Adam Smith's birth in 2023, Peter Boettke addresses those still not well-versed with Smith's magisterial work of political economy.

A Little Lower Than the Angels: What the Founders Learned from Adam Smith (Part 1)

June 17, 2025 Adam Smith provides us with a framework for looking at men as "a little lower than the angels" — not purely benevolent or purely self-interested, but a mixture of both.

John Adams, Adam Smith, and the Passion for Distinction

June 4, 2025 John Adams was heavily influenced by Adam Smith, as can be seen in his Discourses on Davila regarding the effects of social rank on human sympathy.

Teach.

Prices Toolkit

Explore prices, starting with Adam Smith.

Wealth of Nations

AdamSmithWorks Lesson Plans

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

Read.

Lectures on Jurisprudence

Smith’s Lectures on Jurisprudence, originally delivered at the University of Glasgow in 1762–1763, presents his “theory of the rules by which civil government ought to be directed.” The chief purpose of government, according to Smith, is to preserve justice; and “the object of justice is security from injury.” The state must protect the individual’s right to his person, property, reputation, and social relations.