Speaking of Smith Archives

Adam Smith Goes to the Dentist

Thoughts from the dentist's chair about pain prevention and cooperation.

Sympathy and Antipathy in the 21st Century

To increase sympathy in our daily lives in the Smithian way we can cultivate the ‘man within the breast’ through education, contemplation and socialization.

Translating “Self-Interest”: A Spanish Translator Gives A Careful Scotsman Thoughtful Attention

The distinction between “self-interest” and “own interest" in Adam Smith's work is a puzzle for translators. Learn how Alvaro Perpere Viñuales solves it.

El desafío de traducir al castellano a Adam Smith y su idea de “self-interest”

"La distinción entre “self-interest” y “own interest” puede parecer anecdótica para una persona que su idioma nativo sea el inglés. Pero para aquellos que se dedican a traducir las obras de Adam Smith, esto representa un desafío."

Adam Smith, Hugo Grotius, and International Law

The law of nations served as guide for the behavior of leaders of state by stating the basic rules of international conduct. Even when leaders did not comply, they were useful as a moral yardstick.

Adam Smith on Money and the Pursuit of Happiness

"Happiness requires not that we obtain ever more but that we recognize when we have enough, so that we can turn our attention from mere idols to the things that really matter."

Hostile factions and political instability

"The problem of faction seems to be when they undermine the systems of which they are a part, and this relates to the concern which Ryan has rightly identified that Smith has with the stability of institutions over time and of public life more generally."

Use and exchange value, consumer surplus and social welfare

"[N]o authority can make optimal choices for consumers. Adult and healthy consumers should be let free to choose their preferred bundle of goods that they can afford."

Valor de uso y de intercambio, excedente del consumidor y bienestar social

"En toda sociedad es menester dejar a los adultos mayores y sanos ejercer sus facultades de elección para adquirir las cestas de bienes y servicios preferidas, cuyo costo ellos pueden pagar."

The Pursuit of David Hume (and Certainty)

Shirley Robin Letwin’s The Pursuit of Certainty, focuses on David Hume (and others) to understand how politics changed over time in England. Amy Willis encourages you to read, think, and question Hume's ideas and how they are used by others.

A Gentlemanly Experiment in the “Loose, Vague, and Indeterminate”

Is one loose rule better than 100 carefully crafted ones? Nicholas Snow offers a Smithian instance where the answer just might be yes.

Lovers need Smith's Impartial Spectator too.

Adam Smith's impartial spectator plays Cupid in one of Jane Austen's greatest novels. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett reform themselves because they were able to let go of their too biased self-love and sought the perspective of an impartial judge for themselves and each other.