Book Description
1881. Biographical Sketch; Historical Introduction; Phenomena of Sympathy; Moral Approbation and the Feeling of Propriety; Feeling of Merit; Influence of Prosperity or Adversity, Chance and Custom upon Moral Sentiments; Theory of Conscience, Duty, Moral Principles; Relation of Religion to Morality; Character of Virtue; Adam Smith's Theory of Happiness, Final Causes in Ethics and Utility; Relation of Adam Smith's Theory to Other Systems of Morality. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Also known as: Wealth of Nations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Condensed Capitalism
To understand capitalism, read the Wealth of Nations. But, to really understand it, as well as the other ideas of Adam Smith, read his essential works. This book allows the reader to fully grasp the concepts of capitalism and get a clear picture of how and why it works. Thankfully, Heilbronner did not dilute the works of Smith, he just condensed them for the modern day reader. With this book you can cut through the jargon and see the real points that Smith was trying to get across.

A Great Introduction to Adam Smith's Ideas
After reading Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers, I decided to read Smith's Wealth of Nations, but found myself daunted by the length and language of the book.Then I discovered Heilbroner's Essential Adam Smithand was hooked.The book offers the essential parts of Wealth of Nations, as well as a good sampling of some of his other works.As a result, I havenot only read the entire Wealth several times, but have also readeverything by and about Smith that I can find.Heilbroner's book is a goodway to get to the heart of Smith's thinking, but, like me, you willprobably find yourself wanting to learn more about the man, his ideas, andhis life.Enjoy! ... Read more

Book Description
Adam Smith, a Scottish Professor of Moral Philosophy, published his classic Wealth of Nations in 1776, the year the American Revolution began. Smith became widely known for his ideas of free markets, laissez-faire capitalism, and the 'invisible hand' of a wealth-creating business society. Yet British politicians and the landed gentry paid little attention and enacted none of Smith's suggested reforms. Smith was read avidly, however, by the Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. Knowing that unless a sound and prosperous economy could be created in America, the experiment in democracy might fail, and they turned to the ideas of Adam Smith to create and jump-start an economic system for America with both immediate and long-sustained results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The title of the book is correct but not much else
R Smith is certainly correct that Hamilton,Washington,Madison,Franklin,etc.,had either read the Wealth of Nations(WN,1776) or were familiar with its point of view.Of course,these individuals formed the Federalists.They were the real thing as far as genuine conservatism is concerned.They were opposed by the Anti Federalsts(Mason,Randolph,Henry,Paine,Jefferson,etc.)who took their cue from the work of J B Say.These individuals are not conservatives.They are libertarians.It is this group that believed in laissez faire,opposed all tariffs,opposed a uniform currency,opposed the creation of a central bank to control the problematic behavior of private commercial banks,opposed the creation of a strong federal government,opposed giving the federal government the power to tax,etc.R Smith has obviously not read the Wealth of Nations in its entirety because the realAdam Smith favored overall progressive taxes,supported both revenue and retaliatory tariffs,supported extensive public goods and works spending by a democratically elected government(as opposed to the " Government" tyranny of George III.R Smith badly misrepresents Smith's views here),had a very clear understanding of free market failure,externalities and spillover effects,the need to prevent any bank loans from going to projectors(J M Keynes's rentiers and speculators),prodigals,and inprudent risk takers,the need to fix the rate of interest in the long run permanently at a low level a little bit above the prime rate,the skewing of loans to the sober middle class entrepreneurs who would use the loans to create productive jobs and not leveraged buyouts ,dot com frauds,and subprime scams, and the importance of making sure that all individuals had an education and religious instruction that would be provided free of charge by the state if they were unable to pay for such education themselves.Thereis no substantial discussion of any of these Smithian topics anywhere in R Smith's book.R Smith appears to believe that Adam Smith was a libertarian.Nothing could be further from the truth.The interested reader is encouraged to read pp.280-340,especially Smith's summary on pp.339-340,434-439,681-690,716-768,and 794-795 of the Modern Library(Cannan)edition of the WN to discover the real Adam Smith.You will not find him in this book.

Straight-forward, center-right review
Roy C. Smith offers a readable, straight-forward, right-of-center review of the famous economist, Adam Smith.The book introduces Smith's thoughts in basic detail, and spends a great deal of time putting Smith in the context of the American revolution, which of course is when "The Wealth of Nations" was published, in 1776.At times the history seems to drown-out the thems of Adam Smith's contribution, but by the conclusion the author ties up his thesis that Adam Smith's thought had a pervasive and substantial impact on the Founding Fathers, and upon the way Americans have done busness since then.A good read for introductory or undergraduate readers.Author's focus remains on Smith and American context.Little mention of John Maynard Keynes is made, and no discusion of Marx or socialism as a competing alternative.This did not detract from book, as plenty of other books and articles speak to those subjects. ... Read more

Book Description
Although Adam Smith is best known as the founder of scientific economics and an early proponent of the modern market economy, political economy is only one part of his comprehensive intellectual system. Consisting of a theory of mind and its functions in language, arts, science and social intercourse, Smith's system was a towering contribution to the Scottish Enlightenment.This Companion provides an up-to-date examination of all aspects of Smith's thought. Collectively, the essays take into account his multiple contexts--Scottish, British, European, Atlantic, biographical, institutional, political and philosophical. ... Read more

Book Description
This anthology collects, for the first time in one volume, not only generous selections from each of Smith's books but also substantial selections from his other work, including his lectures on jurisprudence, his history and philosophy of science, his criticism and belles lettres, and his philosophy of language. It also includes two important letters from Hume, as well as Smith's account of Humes death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Self interest is not Selfishness;however,it can degenerate into greed
This book's title is very similar to Duncan Foley's recent(2006) book on Adam Smith.Both titles are extremely misleading and inaccurate.Nowhere in the Wealth of Nations(1776) does Smith define self interest as greed.Self interest arises due to the social context of a person's job.A human being's particular specialization(comparative advantage)provides him(her) with a source of revenue that allows him(her) to benefit from the specific needs of the rest of society for his skill while he(she) is able to benefit society as a whole by providing a service or skill that the rest of society needs. Self interest manifests itself only in the context of the interactions and feedbacks that occur between the person and the rest of society.The individual has two goals,one primary and the other secondary , that are not inconsistent and that do not qualify as greed or selfishness.The first goal of the butcher,brewer,blacksmith, or baker is to provide a product or service that other members of society want or need in orderthat it will generate a revenue source that will allow him to care for himself and his family.His concerns with himself and his family,and all of the stresses and strains of making sure that they are provided for,leads the individual to have sympathy for the similar experiences that all of the rest of the other members of society are also experiencing. However ,this is not selfishness.The second goal is to promote the existence of institutions(government) that will allow the harmonious development and expansion of the Invisible Hand(comparative advantage +division of labor+ self interest) process over time(economic growth and extension of the market).

Smith is acutely aware,however,of the dark side of the Invisible Hand.The daily tasks of providing and making a living as the specialization(division) of labor becomes finer and finer will lead to a profound tunnel vision(one's self interest degenerates into selfishness and corrupts completely the moral foundations of the entire society) on the part of all workers that results in severe negative spillover impacts in all other areas of life(social,political,economic[workers lose the capability to make constant marginal improvements over time in the types of machinery and tools that they work with ],moral,intellectual,martial).This is what Smith is talking about on pp.734-741 of the WN(Modern Library[Cannan]edition).

Smith essentially wrote his new Part VI in the sixth edition of the Theory of Moral Sentiments(TMS) in 1790 in order to provide a theoreticalfoundation supporting his claim that it is necessary to promote moral virtue as a general policy(implemented through education and religious instruction)because it would generate positive spillover impacts on society as a whole.This last part is needed because the first 5 parts of TMS basically deal with the role of the impartial spectator, a mental construct ,that generates sympathy when making judgements on an individual basis.Part VI of TMS allows Smith to extend his analysis to a societal basis.

My conclusion is that Smith made no mistake or error.However,it is true that economists over the last 3 centuries have made many mistakes or errors in trying to fit Smith into their very strong a priori belief systems ,based on the claims and misinterpretations introduced byRicardo,Bentham,and James Mills.Therefore,there is a " das economist " problem.The " das economist " problem is that economists are continually searching Smith(Marx,Keynes,Veblen,Schumpeter,Knight,etc.)to find those parts that they can emphasize to support their own biased,apriori beliefs.THey are not interested in the work as a whole,especially if it challenges their misbeliefs,The conclusion is that the economics profession suffers from the psychological problem of cognitive dissonance.

Adam Smith's Mistake ... A Book Not to be Missed!!!
Seldom if ever does one come across a book, so succinct, so seductive and so persuasive in its analysis and treatment on what constitutes the core and foundation of the subject of modern economics. Tracing its development to the times of Adam Smith (and earlier) and the subsequent edification of his work by the motivated self interests of Malthus, Ricardo and others, Lux lays bare the corrupting and narcissist venality of a depraved era that was fashioned into respectability, to spawn the cataclysmic upheavals of the past three centuries, spanning countries and continents of planet earth.

Kenneth Lux argues forcefully that Adam Smith's thesis 'The Wealth of Nations' is but a clarion call to Greed, despite Smith's original intentions to the contrary.

Long after this 'mandate for greed' was absorbed into the fabric of accepted social behaviour and instituted as the norm for legally sanctified economic intercourse, the nations of the world convulse rapaciously with the disproportionate spread in wealth. And the ecosystems of the planet, its air, its earth and its water tether on the brink of collapse.

With the keen insight of the psychologist Kenneth Lux offers a glimmer of redemption from the present dismal state of affairs... "temper 'self interest' with 'benevolence' and things can become very different" he counsels. He does not claim originality for this idea, a truism to be found in all the old books of wisdom. Something mankind has lost sight of and is in urgent need of rediscovery.

Sadly this book by Kenneth Lux "Adam Smith's Mistake: How A Moral Philosopher Invented Economics And Ended Morality", Shambhala 1990, is out of print and out of stock. A few second hand copies retail at three times the original cost!

will open your eyes about ECON 101
Kenneth Lux's and Mark A. Lutz's collaborative and individual efforts should be more widely known, especially among Left Intellectual circles, and that they aren't is quite a shame.

It's also a pity such an earthshattering book as this is now out of print, for it diagnoses the rot at the core of Classical Neoliberal economics so eloquently and plainly.It is a strongly ethical critique that lays bare a critical mistake in the reasoning of Adam Smith...a mistake that has been siezed on by all subsequent Neo-liberal "classical" economists and is the only thing they care to remember about Adam Smith...It was joked once on NPR that Adam Smith couldn't get a job in todays' business press because he'd be percieved as "too lefty".This is actually quite true...if, as Noam Chomsky has pointed out, anyone would actually bother to mull thru the whole of Smith's works.But no, what gets lached on to is the selfishness doctrine (Smith's Mistake) as the key economic engine, and all of Smith's moral reservations and other conscientious handwringing are forgotten/rendered mute by this mistake...and it is upon this mistake that the whole unjust real-existing capitalist world order has been built and continues to rest.

"So?" you might say, "Marx already did this in Das Kapital". Well, yes, but not quite.Lux knows about Marx, of course, and has a few humanistic/ethical choice barbs to toss his way also.

Although Lux does not use this language to describe his position, his solution to the dilema does basically come from the anarcho-syndicalist circles of Spain (both during and even, covertly, AFTER the Spanish Civil War), plus a little Gandhi & MLK thrown in for good measure.That summary is a bit too pat, and it's hard to summarize briefly and still do the book justice; JUST READ IT.You will never look at economics quite the same ever again.

All in all a fine book that has pride of place on my bookshelf. Worth conducting an "out of print" booksearch for, by all means. ... Read more

Book Description
"Peter Dougherty does the near-impossible in this brilliant book . . . [he] makes economics engaging and accessible." --Professor Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia
In this spirited and timely book, Peter Dougherty shows how economists are drawing on Adam Smith's civic writings to illuminate how the market creates not only fiscal capital, but "social capital." Dougherty demonstrates how Smith's ideas are currently experiencing a renaissance. He then explores several impressive initiatives to demonstrate what today's theoretical and practicing economists are accomplishing in the spirit of Adam Smith's moral sentiments: the institutional reform of transitional and developing economies; the financing of new technological, medical, and educational initiatives; and the economic revival of cities. Capitalism pervades every aspect of our daily life. Peter Dougherty now offers a fascinating peek at its hidden soul. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Required Reading for Humanity
The much maligned Adam Smith is herein exonerated as the great soul that he really is.Gandhi, Mother Teresa, King Jr. - these are reliable guides for those seeking to in whatever way make a difference with their lives.So is Smith.And this book is brilliant in its depiction of him.

As noted throughout it's at the intersection of morals and money where our "modern day" society will find material wealth and spiritual fulfillment, the very legacy of Smith's "ism".This "ism" is in quotes here as it was not Smith that labeled his virtuous social system "capitalism" as we refer to it today, but rather Karl Marx as a to-this-day partially successful ploy to associate it with exploitation of workers and the poor while benefiting only the rich risk-taking capitalists.

The legions of otherwise well-meaning "capitalism" bashers need only read this book to realize that any shortcomings manifesting in free market society today are not the fault of Smith's legacy but rather the fault of the individuals (you, me and our neighbors) who operate in it.This places the onus to improve our lots in life exactly where it should be, on ourselves -- not on anything or anyone "out there", and certainly not a social structure put together by a benevolent ancestor like Adam Smith.

In the words of author Dougherty (a reliable source with decades of economics publishing experience and current Director of Princeton University Press), "The Smith we get to know in the years to come will be broader and more multifaceted a presence than the one we think we know."This book has been a huge help for me in this and more.

And from Smith himself, "All the members of human society stand in need of each other's assistance, and are likewise exposed to mutual injuries.Where necessary assistance is reciprocally afforded from love, from gratitude, from friendship, and esteem, the society flourishes and is happy.All the different members of it are bound by the agreeable hands of love and affection, and are, as it were, drawn to one common centre of mutual good offices."

Enjoy.

Highly Recommended!
Peter J. Dougherty has written a breezy tour of modern economics, concentrating on attempts to reconnect the dismal science with its roots in civil studies and moral philosophy. Although he is not an economist, he displays an easy familiarity with economics' big ideas and their authors, and communicates them with style and wit. Dougherty's knowledge of the field is broad, thanks to his decades of experience as an economics editor, but thankfully he does not bog readers down in the technical details. His book stresses the importance of social capital as well as the profit motive, and of strong civic institutions and communities as well as corporations. He offers a refreshing perspective in an era of corporate scandals and cautionary tales of greed. This slim volume contains no specific lessons that can be applied by individuals, but rather a dose of hope that capitalism can indeed encourage the best in people and companies, when institutions and incentives are properly designed by a democratic society.Wesuggest this book to non-economists who want a quick course in the economic and social potential of democratic capitalism.

How Dougherty Wrote His Book?:How The Book Got Its Title
Throughout the book Peter Dougherty expresses the idea that economists are playing a more important role in the development of today's modern world. As the book progresses Dougherty outlines the basics and morality of the market. Dougherty presents the facts that today the market is running according to the basic rules Adam Smith presented in his works. Throughout the book it's argued that the pursuit of self-interest would not only increase the wealth of society but also teach good habits. Dougherty discusses Smith's ideas on the role of government and other non-economic institutions in society. He argues we need institutions that put our self-interest into service of the common interest, while curving its more destructive elements. This book provides a guided tour through the works of all the authors noted throughout the book. Unfortunately I found this book a little confusing do to some language use and the multiple characters. This book was not the most up beat book I've ever read, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who is truly interested in economics and its many elements.

Adam Smith's Civil Society
Who¡¯s Afraid of Adam Smith? How The Market Got Its Soul! is a book about economics. In the book Peter J. Dougherty portrays many important figures that shaped the history and evolvement of economics. He expresses the idea that economists are playing a more important role in the development of the modern world than what people have realized. However, this book is more about ethics. As the title tells, it is about the moral aspects of economics. With the discussion of Adam Smith¡¯s moral sentiment and how the moral aspects of economics evolved with the development of the modern society, Dougherty outlines the basis and inner morality of free market. He argues that capitalism system and the free market based on it was born with a soul.
Adam Smith¡¯s The Wealth of Nation has long been regarded as the ¡°Bible of capitalism¡±. The focus of Dougherty¡¯s book, however, is on Smith¡¯s less-known book --- The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Published in 1759, The Theory of Moral Sentiments was derived from Adam Smith¡¯s work on moral philosophy. Dougherty believes that the moral dimension of Adam Smith gives market society its soul and it is further revised and updated by several generations of economists and social philosophers to meet the challenges of the changing time.
Dougherty presents the facts that today¡¯s free market is running according to the basic rules Adam Smith articulated in his works. He points out that ¡°the seemingly paradoxical connection between self-love and universal opulence sat at the center of Smith¡¯s system of social philosophy¡­¡± and ¡°Smith connected the pursuit of private interest to service of the public good.¡± He offers several important insights from Smith¡¯s idea of a civil society.
A civil society is built around the assumption ¡°that we are not angels, but rather the very self-interested beings whom we know ourselves to be¡­¡± As observed by Adam Smith it is "not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest". A civil society is built on the basis of the pursuit of self-interest. It promotes individual prosperity.
Adam Smith argued that the pursuit of self-interest would not only increase the wealth of the society but also inculcate good habits such as ¡°economy, industry, discretion, attention and application of thought¡±. As he noted ¡°whenever dealings are frequent, a man does not expect to gain so much by any one contract as by probity and punctuality in the whole, and a prudent dealer, who is sensible of his real interest, would rather choose to lost what he has a right to than give any ground for suspicion¡­¡± In a civil society, these ¡°good habits¡± are not just an option, they are necessary for the maximization of people¡¯s self-interest.
Finally, Dougherty discusses Adam Smith¡¯s idea on the role of government and other non-economic institutions in a society. He writes that ¡°we need institutions that channel our self-interest into service of the common interest while curbing its more destructive elements.¡± Dougherty examines how economists at different times applied Smith¡¯s ideas through advocating government¡¯s role in projects like education, research and development initiatives, and revitalizing poor neighborhood.

Who' s afraid of Adam Smith
I really did'nt like this book at all. I think that it is a very confusing and lame story. Sorry no hard feelings. I mean there was nothing there to keep me motivated and interested in reading it. You talked alot about Econ throughout the story which I thought was very cool, just for the simple fact this is for my Econ class. Its like your telling life time stories about yourself and others. You sure do have alot of characters throughout the book. Overall I think that the book is okay its just not a book for me. ... Read more

Book Description
D. D. Raphael provides a critical account of the moral philosophy of Adam Smith, presented in his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.Whilst it does not have the same prominence in its field as his work on economics, The Wealth of Nations, Smith's writing on ethics is of continuing importance and interest today, especially for its theory of conscience. Smith sees the origin of conscience in the sympathetic and antipathetic feelings of spectators. As spectators of the actions of other people, we can imagine how we would feel in their situation. If we would share their motives, we approve of their action. If not, we disapprove. When we ourselves take an action, we know from experience what spectators would feel, approval or disapproval. That knowledge forms conscience, an imagined impartial spectator who tells us whether an action is right or wrong. In describing the content of moral judgement, Smith is much influenced by Stoic ethics, with an emphasis on self-command, but he voices criticism as well as praise. His own position is a combination of Stoic and Christian values.There is a substantial difference between the first five editions of the Moral Sentiments and the sixth. Failure to take account of this has led some commentators to mistaken views about the supposed youthful idealism of the Moral Sentiments as contrasted with the mature realism of The Wealth of Nations. A further source of error has been the supposition that Smith treats sympathy as the motive of moral action, as contrasted with the supposedly universal motive of self-interest in The Wealth of Nations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

4.5 Stars-Excellent but overlooks Smith's major reason for coming out with the 6th edition of TMS
Raphael(R) has done a masterful job in presenting an exposition of Smith's moral philosophy.Smith conceives thatall individuals activate their conscience by postulating the existence in each human being of an impartial mental spectator who is able to discern ,independently from the subjective biases of the individual human observor,what is objectively happening in any particular decision context.The emotion of sympathy is triggered.Sympathy is the key emotion that needs to be understood if one truly wishes tounderstand moral judgement.Sympathy is not a synonym for pity ,compassion,or expressing feelings of sorrow or regret.The proper role for evaluating the role of sympathy occurs in judgement and not motivation.Essentially,we are all able to put ourselves in the shoes of the human decision maker and walk a couple of miles along the particular path of life that he is taking.Our judgement of rightness or wrongness is based on this mental reconstruction of this path and our own assessment about how WE would behave if stuck in his shoes.

R correctly concludes that Smith has integrated many major aspects and concerns of the Stoic philosophers and early Christian fathers concerning the importance of justice as it relates to all aspects of a human beings life.


The only criticism I have of R's treatment is ubiquitous to all extant writings on Smith's moral and economic theories for the last 248 years.There really is no mystery as to why Smith was compelled to put out a 6th edition of TMS in 1790,some 15 years after the last revision in 1775.Smith's entirely new part VI on the character of virtue and the essential neccessity of promoting morality as a necessary social good follows directly from his discussions in the Wealth of Nations(1776;Modern Library[Cannan] edition)concerning major undepletable,negative externalities,and spillover effects which impact the moral,social,political,martial,and intellectual well being and development of practically the entire workforce,that are a direct byproduct of the workings of the powerful wealth creating process of individual self interest,comparative advantage, and the division of labor that Smith characterized as an Invisible Hand(of the market mechanism)on p.423.Smith discusses these negative spillover effects in great detail on pp.734-741 of the WN.Smith's solution is that government is the ONLY institution that can deal with this immemse and massiveproblem.How will this severe externality ,created by the workings of the Invisible Hand, be dealt with ? Smith states that the entire work force MUST be provided with education and religious instruction,which will be provided free of charge ,if necessary ,to all those who can't afford to pay.Smith's entire discussion on pp.716-768 should be carefully read by all modern day economists since there is not a better discussionof market failure,public goods,and externalities-spillover effects in the current literature.Smith is not merely arguing for public schools.

WE can now see more clearly the connections between the new part VI of the 1790 edition of TMS and the WN.This new part of TMS is the new theoretical construct and foundation that provides the theoreticalsupportfor the applied policy analysis advocated by Smith in the WN, in Part V,pp.716-768, that is needed to deal with the dark side of the Invisible Hand Process.What happens if it is NOT dealt with by government action ? What will occur is the "...almost entire corruption and degeneracy of the great body of people "(Smith,p.734;Smith repeats this conclusion 5 times over the next 7 pages).It is now obvious that a major tenet of Marxist analysis is that this severe undepletable externality,first identified by Adam Smith in 1776 and regularly deemphasized by the economics profession fornearly 250 years,will NOT BE DEALT WITH BY GOVERNMENT.This is one of Marx's major premises.This,of course,will result ina very depressing future for the entire working class.Marx's prediction was that, eventually,the working class would rise up to deal with this problem themselves in a revolutionary way.On the other hand,Government actions to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts created by the Invisible Hand process ,leads to a very different outcome-an increased economic well being that is combined with a completely educated and intellectually developed working class applying the principles of Smith's final edition of the TMS,which were virtue and morality.This is ,of course,a 180 degree turn from the wide claims made by economists that Smith was an advocate of free market,laissez faire capitalism that concluded that private greed and avarice would lead to a social optimum if only government would get out of the way.This latter characterization of Smith is simply a bad joke .

An interesting topic for development is WHY no economist,philosopher or political theorist had dealt with this issue since 1759.Perhaps Raphael will write a future book correcting this lacuna. ... Read more

Book Description
In this accessible book, Gavin Kennedy takes a fresh look at Adam Smith's moral philosophy and its links to his political economy and his lectures on jurisprudence. The book provides a new analysis of Wealth of Nations, and argues that Adam Smith's intellectual legacy was coopted in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by economists pursuingnbsp;agendas that Smith did not advocate. It also provides a new explanation for the main mysteries about Smith's later life. ... Read more