Smithian Essays
This volume collects 36 recent essays, sixteen of which are coauthored. Many present Adam Smith’s thinking, on such issues as: upside and downside, pride and vanity, the highest impartial spectator, why lords went for luxuries, why Britain should let the American colonies go, and why America’s prospects were bright. The volume contains a major chapter on the adjective ‘liberal’ to describe the presumption-of-liberty policy sensibilities of himself and his friends, focusing on the period 1769 to 1824.
Other topics include signs of untruthfulness, why the welfare state is devoid of generosity, Cicero’s challenge, C.S. Lewis on patriotism, Burke as conservative liberal, and Hume and Smith as discreet proto-Darwinians. The final chapter, ‘The Baby and the Bathwater,’ suggests that the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty stand and fall together.
Chapter 1
Adam Smith’s Benevolence Puzzle
Coauthor: Erik W. Matson
Chapter 2
The Godly Path to Adam Smith’s Liberal Plan
Chapter 3
Essential Words in—and Not in—Adam Smith’s Essential Works
Coauthor: Caleb Petitt
Chapter 4
Ronald Coase’s Fitting Tribute to Adam Smith
Chapter 5
When Scottish Sages Christened ‘Liberal’
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Correcting Superiors from Below
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Adam Smith on Upside and Downside
Coauthor: Yahya Alshamy
Chapter 11
Adam Smith and Angels with Dirty Faces
Coauthor: Ali Motamedi
Chapter 12
Pride and Vanity, After Adam Smith
Chapter 13
Coauthor: Alice Zhang
Chapter 14
Coauthors: Nicholas R. Swanson and Jeffrey T. Young
Chapter 15
Adam Smith’s Beholderism Redux
Coauthor: Jeffrey T. Young
Chapter 16
The Welfare State is Devoid of Generosity
Coauthor: Eric Hammer
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Virtues Project for a Youngster
Chapter 21
Adam Smith and Propriety in Moral and Political Discourse
Chapter 22
Civility and Civil Courage
Chapter 23
Does Winning High Office Signal Low Virtue? Adam Smith’s Perspective on Person’s in Government
Chapter 24
Adam Smith’s Great Power Politics in One Paragraph
Chapter 25
Adam Smith’s Sly American Proposal
Chapter 26
Adam Smith’s Hopes for a Liberal America
Coauthor: Michaela Loughran
Chapter 27
‘Liberal’ as a Political Adjective (in English), 1769–1824
Chapter 28
Coauthor: Jacob R. Hall
Chapter 29
By the Same Author: Presenting Adam Smith’s Works as a Whole
Coauthor: Caroline Breashears
Chapter 30
Cancel Culture Stalks Adam Smith, an Ardent Foe of Slavery
Chapter 31
Hume and Smith as Discreet Proto-Darwinians
Coauthor: Harrison Searles
Chapter 32
Adam Smith’s Unmerited Censure: Revisiting a Satirical 1764 Pamphlet on Slavery
Coauthor: Kendra Asher
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Hate, What Is It Good For? A Smithian Perspective
Coauthor: Adam Dixon
Chapter 35
Coauthor: Michael Durčák
Chapter 36
Coauthor: Daniel J. Mahoney