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Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism

byGlory Liu

Glory Liu traces how Americans transformed Adam Smith from a complex Scottish moral philosopher into an icon of unregulated capitalism. She follows interpretations of The Wealth of Nations from the founding era through economists, business groups, politicians, textbooks, and think tanks. Smith's arguments about morality, institutions, monopoly, labor, and statecraft were repeatedly narrowed into slogans about the invisible hand and free markets. The book shows that intellectual influence is produced through selective reading and political need, revealing how the “Adam Smith” invoked in American debate often tells us more about America than about Smith.

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Publication date

2022

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9780691203812