The Economics of Adam Smith

The renewed interest in the works of the great classical economists reflects in part a recognition that there is still much to be learned from them about the operation of the economy. This volume is the first in a series of four in which Professor Hollander will provide an analytical and critical assessment of the thought of the British school of classical economists; later volumes will elucidate the thought of Ricardo and Malthus, Mill, and Marx. This study relates Smith's theoretical position to contemporary history and economic practice. It pays particular attention to Smith's vision of the process of industrialization during the mid-eighteenth century, his approach to British colonial policies, and his view of the desirability of economic development. Coming in time for the bicentennial celebrations of The Wealth of Nations, this work should interest all economists with a sense of the evolution and purpose of their discipline, and should commend itself as a detailed and careful reinterpretation of what Adam Smith was thinking about. One authoritative reader has called it: 'one of the most distinguished essays in the history of economic thought of the last quarter century.' (Studies in Classical Political Economy)