Stephen B. Young

Adam Smith and Modern Economics

For more than two centuries, economists and researchers have struggled with the conundrum of reconciling Adam Smith's views on economics and ethics. While some held that Smith's capitalism and free markets institutionalized selfishness, greed, inequality and injustice, others focused on his theory of the moral nature of all human persons and the application of conscience and self-restraint in capitalist activities. Adam Smith and Modern Economics suggests that neither of these two conventional understandings alone is accurate and conducive to human flourishing. Smith put markets in the context of morality, observing that markets serve best when our moral sentiments are followed. In a remarkable convergence of inductive thinking, the contributors to this book set a new standard of scholarship and insight for our understanding of Adam Smith's contributions as a master of political economy, where politics brings forth decision-making about priorities and values. The contributions integrate morals, values, and the universal intangible capitals of sociality and human resourcefulness with the more materialistic side of economic activity to advocate a system seeking equilibrium. They posit that when ethics and economics are integrated, wealth can be created for the good of all. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, this new and sympathetic understanding of Smith's intentions and accomplishment is essential reading for academics and students of economics, politicians and bureaucrats, public policy planners, social justice activists, executives, and professionals.