The Authentic Adam Smith
His Life and Ideas
“Highly amusing. . . . In Buchan’s hands, Smith and his words come across as they should, in all their lucidity and elegance.”—William Grimes, The New York Times
Adam Smith (1723-1790) has been adopted by neo-conservatives as the ideological father of unregulated business and small government. His “invisible hand” has become a commanding shorthand for politicians promoting laissez faire economics, but Smith never used it in reference to free-market capitalism. Smith was a deeply moral man who considered himself a philosopher, not an economist; his masterwork, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, exerted considerable influence on his later, more celebrated work, The Wealth of Nations.
Drawing on twenty-five years of research, James Buchan renders an Adam Smith untainted by political and economic interests. This compelling narrative uncovers Smith’s passionate commitment to develop an ethical theory essential to his vision of a just commercial society.
“Buchan’s intellectual biography of Smith does justice to both mind and life”—Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post
“Very readable . . . [Buchan] places Smith so persuasively in the social and political life of his day.”—Alan Ryan, The New York Review of Books
“James Buchan’s elegant prose sparkles on the page.”—New Statesman