ADAM SMITH’S ENLIGHTENED WORLD

Commerce, morality, equality, the rule of law, and the role of government… Welcome to the world of Adam Smith.

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Speaking of Smith

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Adam Smith, the American Founding and the Political Problem of Wealth, Part 2

July 26, 2024 How do you make sure bad people do not end up in control of necessary institutions? How do you make sure that good people can rise to positions of leadership that require virtue? The American founders struggled and arguing and learned from each other as well as from thoughtful predecessors like Adam Smith.

Adam Smith, the American Founding and the Political Problem of Wealth

July 17, 2024 ... for Smith, and most of the founders, the moral psychological problem of wealth is not something that can be resolved, and so each suggest institutional solutions to the problem. Smith, in particular, focuses on political economic solutions or institutions to address the potential downfalls of a permanent wealthy class.

Sandra Peart on Ethical Quandaries and Politics Without Romance

One way to think about economics is to start with scarcity and devise a system around it. And then there's the Virginia School. Not only can this school provide a more interesting avenue for exploring the human condition, it's a model of human learning and debate that could serve college campuses well today.

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Adam Smith, the American Founding and the Political Problem of Wealth

July 17, 2024 ... for Smith, and most of the founders, the moral psychological problem of wealth is not something that can be resolved, and so each suggest institutional solutions to the problem. Smith, in particular, focuses on political economic solutions or institutions to address the potential downfalls of a permanent wealthy class.

Bridging Cultures: Adam Smith and Confucius

November 22, 2023 Tan shows the parallels in the thought of two great civilizational moralists, though separated by space, tradition, and more than 2000 years. "Finding the universal truth in a culture that seems quite different from one’s own does not homogenize the two cultures, but it may harmonize them."

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Activity: Can we expect free trade?

Use this quotation from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to prompt a discussion of how likely it is that any country will ever have completely free trade.

AdamSmithWorks Lesson Plans

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

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An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

First published in 1776, the year in which the American Revolution officially began, Smith’s Wealth of Nations sparked a revolution of its own. In it Smith analyzes the major elements of political economy, from market pricing and the division of labor to monetary, tax, trade, and other government policies that affect economic behavior. Throughout he offers seminal arguments for free trade, free markets, and limited government.

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