Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)
5/6/20261 hr 8 min
Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In this updated replay of a 2022 episode, we hold a very Smithy tug of war.
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SOURCES:
- Eamonn Butler, co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute.
- Glory Liu, a political scientist and Adam Smith scholar at Georgetown University.
- Mariana Mazzucato, professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London.
- Dennis Rasmussen, a professor of political science at Syracuse University.
- Russ Roberts, president of Shalem College in in Jerusalem; host of the EconTalk podcast; and author.
- Craig Smith, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Glasgow.
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RESOURCES:
- Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism, by Gloria Liu (2022).
- "Henry and Adam: A Deep and Special Friendship," by Benny Higgins (Adam Smith Panmure House Perspective, 2020).
- "Rescuing Adam Smith From Myth and Misrepresentation," (The Economist, 2018).
- The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought, by Dennis C. Rasmussen (2017).
- How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness, by Russ Roberts (2014).
- "British Privatization — Taking Capitalism to the People," by John Moore (Harvard Business Review, 1992).
- Free to Choose: A Personal Statement, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman (1990).
- The Essential Adam Smith, edited by Robert L. Heilbroner (1986).
- An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776).
- The Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith (1759).
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EXTRAS:
- "In Search of the Real Adam Smith," series by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsStephen Dubner· Host0:00
[music] 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. [music] What do you think Adam Smith would make of the UK economy today?
Eamonn Butler· Guest0:47
Oh, golly. Uh, 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 forty percent of the national income in taxes of one sort and 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.
Stephen Dubner· Host1:23
That is Eamonn Butler.
Eamonn Butler· Guest1:25
I'm a director of the Adam Smith Institute, which is a free market