Adam Smith Works
  • Home
  • Learn
  • Read
  • Teach
  • Explore
  • Contributors
  • Sign up or Sign in
  1. Learn.
  2. Essays by Theme
  3. 1776 and the American Founding

1776 and the American Founding

1776 and the american founding

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

Brianne Wolf
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

Brianne Wolf
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.

Adam Smith and the American Founding: The Theory of Moral Sentiments as a Field Guide to the Pursuit of Happiness

Sarah Morgan Smith
April 1, 2020

Adam Smith's Economic Case Against Imperialism

David R. Henderson
August 14, 2018

1776 and All That: Thomas Jefferson on Adam Smith

Hans Eicholz
July 4, 2019

The American Revolution and Constitution

A collection of material on the Revolution and the Constitution at the Online Library of Liberty

American Founding Timeline



via the Online Library of Liberty
Follow us:

A project of Liberty Fund, made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Copyright 2017 – 2025, Liberty Fund, Inc. All Rights Reserved.