‘Adam Smith’s America’ Review: Wealth of a Nation

Admirers of Adam Smith may be surprised to learn that there is an entire academic industry dedicated to the proposition that the great Scottish economist was not a proponent of free-market capitalism. Scholarly articles on Smith and the economic ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment frequently contain lengthy explanations of how he really didn’t promote amoral capitalism and unfettered markets but believed rather in a virtuous society that placed moral concerns above the market.