Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)
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What is the significance of Adam Smith in modern economics?
Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner. If you've been keeping up with your Freakonomics Radio feed, you've already heard an episode we made about a new oratorio by David Lang called Wealth of Nations, which was inspired by the book Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. Smith was a Scottish philosopher who today is thought of as the first modern economist. Wealth of Nations was published in 1776, and it's never really left the scene. A few years ago, we made a three-part series called In Search of the Real Adam Smith. Today, we are replaying for you one of those episodes. It's called Was Adam Smith Really a Right Winger? Facts and figures have been updated. I hope you enjoy. What do you think Adam Smith would make of the UK economy today?
Oh, golly. He'd think it's in a great pickle. I think he'd actually think that it's one of the most tyrannical systems that he'd ever discovered. The idea that government should be taking 40% of the national income in taxes of one sort or another Not just direct taxes on income, but taxes on everything you spend, taxes on air travel, all sorts of hidden taxes, taxes on work, taxes on jobs. He would think that this is the most oppressive regime in the whole world. That is Eamon Butler. I'm a director of the Adam Smith Institute, which is a free market think tank based in London.
And we are in London with him. Today on Freakonomics Radio, we are trying to figure out how Adam Smith, a moral philosopher from 18th century Scotland, became the patron saint of free market capitalism, even into the 21st century. Did Smith, for instance, really see governments as tyrannical?
He distrusts politicians, both their abilities and often even their intentions.
We'll find out when and where the modern view of Smith gained traction.
The Chicago School picked up a few aspects of Smith's thought and made it the whole of Smith's thought.
And we'll hear how this interpretation of Smith is often quite wrong. As much as that might have been efficient in terms of allocation, it was horrible from the perspective of human welfare.
Prepare yourself for a tug of war. There's raging debate in Smith scholarship among people who are sometimes called left Smithians and right Smithians.
Whether you are a left Smithian, a right Smithian, or even if you've never heard of him, it's fair to say that we are all Smithians today. In Search of the Real, Adam Smith starts now.
This is Freakonomics Radio, the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything, with your host, Stephen Dubner.
In 1759, Adam Smith published his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. He was in his mid-30s, and he'd spent the previous several years teaching moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow.
The initial reception of the theory of moral sentiments was quite warm. That's Glory Liu, a political scientist and Smith scholar. The initial reviews in London magazines, as well as in the United States, are praising Smith for the beauty of his writing.
But it wasn't just the beauty of Smith's writing that won praise. It was his humanity, his sympathy. He argued, for instance, that wealth does not necessarily indicate moral virtue, nor does poverty preclude it. Here is a passage from the book.
How did Adam Smith's views on government influence economic thought?
This disposition to admire and almost to worship the rich and the powerful is and to despise or at least to neglect persons of poor and mean condition, though necessary both to establish and to maintain the distinction of ranks and the order of society, is at the same time the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.
The book brought Smith a sterling reputation as a writer, philosopher and public intellectual, which is why some of his friends thought it odd that he accepted a position as a tutor to a 17-year-old Duke, the stepson of a future chancellor of the Exchequer. This assignment included travel around continental Europe. Smith grew bored with the tutelage itself, but he did get to spend time with Voltaire, with the economist François Canet, and with Benjamin Franklin.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the significance of Adam Smith in modern economics?
0:02–3:54
2
How did Adam Smith's views on government influence economic thought?
3:54–7:56
3
What are the main arguments for and against the interpretation of Smith by modern scholars?
7:56–12:37
4
How have different political ideologies shaped the perception of Adam Smith?
12:37–16:18
5
What impact did the Chicago School have on Adam Smith's legacy?
16:18–19:59
6
What role did Adam Smith play in the context of British privatization?
19:59–27:28
7
How do contemporary economists reconcile Smith's ideas with modern capitalism?
27:28–32:55
8
What lessons can be learned from Adam Smith's philosophy today?
32:55–1:08:14
Speakers
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