Morality in Adam Smith

Like blades of grass shooting up in an already verdant countryside estate, the introduction of new scholarship on Adam Smith faces the daunting task of offering distinctive commentary on the Scottish moral philosopher and political economist, given the flowing abundance of high-quality Smith literature that continues to be produced year after year. This difficulty is particularly manifest in light of the many events and conferences in 2023 celebrating the tercentenary of Smith’s birth. Forget Das Adam Smith Problem concerning whether Smith’s emphasis on sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and his endorsement of economic self-interest in The Wealth of Nations can be reconciled: Smith has now reached the level of Das Abraham Lincoln Problem, the challenge of carving out novel intellectual terrain in heavily saturated fields of study.