Customer Reviews (13)

Basic to Adam Smith
If you are going to cite Adam Smith for anything, you should, first, read The Wealth of Nations, and, second, read about him.Philosophy never sits comfortably in the abstract; one should know about the man to judge his words. This book is a short and accessible pathway to that end. A similar example is found in references to, for example, JRR Tolkien.Behind his wonderful stories, there is strong and enlightening evidence that the Professor actually believed in the independent existence of the creatures he was, as he put it, "discovering."For an exploration of this, see 'MIRKWOOD: A Novel About JRR Tolkien" (available through Amazon in May, 2010).

Provocative, short, but dishonest
Well written, short (198 pages) but does not do the Wealth of Nations (WON) justice.It discusses Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments more.And it's dishonest because on p. 2 it states that the phrase 'invisible hand' does not "have anything to do with free-market capitalism or awesome international transactions" yet on p. 110 the author quotes from WON directly as Smith says "[about a merchant's use of money inside his country] 'he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention'".This directly contradicts the previous statement by Buchan.It leads me to think that Buchan is trying to downplay the WON, for his own political goals.This is the ideological goal of Buchan, who seems to lean left of the political spectrum. In fact, the reader has no idea WON was so successful until later in the book, indirectly, when the author mentions republication.

A dishonest, partisan book, that cannot be trusted. Plus the hardcover is a bit too expensive for such a short book.Two stars.

A Horrible read.
The author, of this book was more interested in talking in old english bable,and trying to impress readers with his brogue,writting.I would give an example but unfortunatly 95% of the time I had no clue what the author was saying.The main idea I came away with. Adam Smith, was a principled man who thought out of the box on economics to help the common working class laborer.I would recommend, Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, One thounsand pages, I started the book,well writtan,but to busy to commit to a thousand page read.This book will give you the scoop on Adam
Smith, and his history.

A fine biography of a very fine gentleman
Novelist and critic James Buchan employs his considerable writing skills to sketch out a concise yet intellectually comprehensive profile of one of the leading figures of the Scottish Enlightenment. The person of Adam Smith has long been used as an icon by political conservatives and free marketeers to propagandize their laissez-faire ideology, an anti-Marx effigy paraded before the masses to ward off the evil spirits of social empathy. Doctrinaire stalwarts such as Alan Greenspan --with whom Buchan starts off the book, benignly neglecting the more glaring but superannuated standard-bearers, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan-- relentlessly enshrine Adam Smith as the prophet of liberty, a liberty largely defined by --and mostly confined to-- private business interests. Unstated but ever present is the doctrinaire's message that here is the apostle of absolute truth, for somehow, we are supposed to believe, Adam Smith was obviously infallible.

Buchan does a great service to the contemporary affluent masses by presenting the real Adam Smith shorn of all mythical overtones. What emerges is an even more admirable personage. One of the first myths to go is that of the Promethean economist. Smith was but one among many thinkers in Europe to study the problem of commerce in the mercantilist societies of the preindustrial age. Smith's renowned work, «An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations», was not the first to broach the subject although it "more or less defined the field of inquiry known as political economy until the late nineteenth century." Indeed, Buchan points out that Smith borrowed the denominative term from James Steuart's «An Inquiry into the Principles of Political Oeconomy», published nine years before «The Wealth of Nations». Which was the natural thing to do, I might add, since Steuart's choice was the apposite name.

Smith's most celebrated term, the notorious "invisible hand," receives due attention right from the start. "The phrase 'invisible hand' occurs three times in the million-odd words of Adam Smith's that have come down to us, and on not one of those occasions does it have anything to do with free-market capitalism or awesome international transactions." Golly gee whiz, read and learn. The initial occurrence is found in "The History of Astronomy," Smith's first philosophical essay which nevertheless was published posthumously. "In this its first avatar," explains Buchan, "the invisible hand is not a commercial mechanism, but a circumlocution for God." The second appearance comes in «The Theory of Moral Sentiments», considered Smith's magnum opus until "the rise of political economy amid the battles and factory smoke of the Victorian age." Buchan argues that "The Invisible Hand here is like the Great Superintendant, or Superintendant of the Universe, or Great Conductor or Benevolent Nature and all the other deistic codewords that litter the «Theory»." God by this time has become the more distant and impersonal Providence. The Hand's third apparition is the only one to show up in the «Wealth». Discussing how a merchant would rather invest at home than abroad in order to keep an eye on his capital, thus rendering the greatest possible revenue to his own society, Smith states that "he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention." A fitting observation, yes, but not exactly a passionate defense of raw, unfettered capitalism. Buchan gives us a glimpse of what Smith really thought of these merchants:" 'The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce' that arises from the merchant class, therefore, 'ought always to be listened to with great precaution.' "In all likelihood, Smith would have included their modern ideological apologists in the warning as well. Later on in the book the Hand just disappears, substituted by the more rational if less poetic (and rhetorically worthless) "private interests and passions of individuals."

As with the name for the field of economics and even with the title of his first masterwork (due to his knowledge of L.J. Levesque de Pouilly's «Théorie des sentiments agréables»), Smith was in some debt to yet another thinker for the basic notion of the invisible hand: Bernard de Mandeville, author of the controversial «The Grumbling Hive», expanded and republished as «The Fable of the Bees: or, Private Vices, Publick Virtues», which stirred up in England a veritable hornets' nest. Mandeville's point was "that all public benefits arose from vices," vices being, in essence, self-interest. But "Mandeville wrote like a pimp," Buchan assures us, "and his blend of moral anarchy and gutter utilitarianism" did not go down well in proper English circles. The brazen satirist had it coming, and Smith dutifully joined in to denounce Mandeville in the «Theory», though he did well absorb a clever point or two. This second clever Mandevillean point was none other than the «Wealth's» fundamental concept of the division of labor, yet another instance of strategic Smithian borrowing.

Still, Smith was no plagiarist. Ideas do not arise in a vacuum but are always the product of the times, and Smith did develop and refine those ideas legitimately. It was his good fortune that his times were rich in world-class thinkers, beginning with his best friend, David Hume, a giant of modern philosophy who is always at hand in the narrative. (Incidentally, Hume also had already discussed the "partition of employments" in «A Treatise of Human Nature», in accordance with the spirit of the times -- which in this particular regard stretch all the way back to Plato.) This I found to be marvelous of this book, that Buchan takes the reader on a grand tour of the thinkers and doers of the period in their historical context. All presented in a most elegant literary prose. What more can one ask for? A detailed index? It's there, one of the best to be consulted. «The Authentic Adam Smith» is a pleasure to read. I would suggest you savor the feast at your earliest convenience.

Placing the great thinker in social and historic context
James Buchan offers us a concise review of the works of Adam Smith, making an effort to reveal the strengths of his thought as well as those aspects of the work that are less strong due to hind-sight. Buchan does this by first grounding Smith firmly in the midst of the Scottish Enlightenment and revealing the influences of David Hume and Francis Hutchinson as well as the ancient philosophers. Then Buchan offers us multiple quotations from Smith to make his points.

Neither economics nor capitalism existed as mental entities in the time in which Smith was writing. Smith took on a formless mass of commercial thinking and made a system of it. Smith is often referred to by conservatives for support of their economic philosophy; however the phrase `invisible hand' occurs only three times in the works of Adam Smith and not once does it refer to free-market capitalism.

Buchan places Smith and his writing within the context of the Scottish Enlightenment, where David Hume was a major influence. Smith retreated from advanced philosophical positions for reasons of prudence since in that time some thought that the doctrine of Free Trade represented revolution.

Smith was influenced by his teacher Hutcheson, a British moralist, who sought to discover principles of human nature from which we form our notions of good and evil. Hutcheson believed there was a faculty in human beings that responded to virtue as to beauty.

Smith was influenced by the Stoics, Cicero, and Marcus Aurelius. For Stoics, the world is organized in such a way that all activities and propensities, selfish and unselfish, combine for the benefit of the whole.

Smith's work on commercial society was modified in the work of John Stuart Mill. Adam Smith sought to organize experience of the world into a series of interlocking systems. Mill states "Political economy does not treat the whole of man's nature as modified by the social state, nor of the whole conduct of man in society.It is concerned with him solely as a being who desires to possess wealth, and who is capable of judging of the comparative efficacy or means for obtaining that end. It predicts only such of the phenomena of the social state as take place in consequence of the pursuit of wealth.It makes entire abstraction of every other human passion or motive. "It is of interest that the fields of Anthropology and Sociology now indicate that context, social networks and other structural factors do indeed appear to influence opinions and behaviors, thus supporting Adam Smith's original observations.

Smith was working at a theory of innovation.Smith contends that industrial innovation mostly arises in the field or on the factory floor; but that revolutionary processes are the work of contemplative minds.

Smith thought that the rich are obliged by the very operation of money and free commerce to share some of their riches with the poor. I am not certain that this portion that the rich are suppose to share with the poor during the acts of consumption are sufficient for the actual well-being of the poor.Buchan states: This is optimism run wild. The landed and merchant interests that dominated Parliament insisted that exports be encouraged and imports discouraged. But as Smith was to argue, this is a mere reflex to stifle competition and preserve the social hierarchy for their own convenience.

David Hume identified the partition of employments as one of the three great benefits delivered to the individual by living in society. Smith argued that specialization would not deliver improvements if the artisans were slaves whose labor and innovations belonged to the masters. What was needed was freedom of occupation.

Smith thought that the role of government could be summarized as: the protection of society from invasion from abroad; the establishment and exact administration of justice; and certain public works and institutions that would be unprofitable for private citizens, either individually or in small groups. Public investments to facilitate commerce should be provided only where private individuals have failed.

David Hume thought independence was as natural to a colony as to a growing child. In matters of trade, Smith was on the side of the American colonists. Smith saw what was to become the United States far eclipsing the mother country in trade and power. Smith urged Britain to wake from her `golden dream' of empire.

The division of labor however created specialized idiots. Public education, even if it brought the state no advantage, makes the people less open to the political contagion of faction and sedition, fanaticism and superstition.

Smith recognized that public service could not be maintained without some general taxation and its anticipation through borrowing. Tax for Smith was a badge not of slavery but of liberty, but only if it was collected on principles of equality. Taxation should be progressive in that the rich should pay a higher proportion of their income. As for public borrowing, it is a diversion of productive capital.

Smith and Hume believed that men could be good without much or indeed any religious belief.For that to be demonstrated, it was necessary not only to live without fault but also to die without fear.The account of Hume's last illness was one of the very finest pieces Smith wrote.

I end this review with nine quotations by Adam Smith taken from Buchan's book:

The respect of our equals...of becoming the proper objects of this respect, of deserving and obtaining this credit and rank among our equals, is perhaps the strongest of all our desires. - Adam Smith


The obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord.Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man, or order of men. - Adam Smith

To prohibit a great people, however, from making all that they can of every part of their own produce, or from employing their stock and industry in the way that they judge most advantageous to themselves, is a manifest violation of the most sacred right of mankind. - Adam Smith

The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce that arises from the merchant class ought always to be listened to with great precaution. - Adam Smith

Men love to reap where they never sowed. - Adam Smith

Political economy considered as a branch of the science of a statesman or legislator proposes two distinct objects: first, to provide a plentiful revenue or subsistence for the people, or more properly to enable them to provide such a revenue or subsistence for themselves; and secondly, to supply the state or commonwealth with a revenue sufficient for the public services. - Adam Smith

The whole magic of a well-ordered society is that each man works for others, while believing that he is working for himself. - Adam Smith

...Civil government...is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor. - Adam Smith

Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree...but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice...all governments that thwart this natural course, which force things into another channel, or which endeavor to arrest the progress of society at a particular point, are unnatural, and to support themselves are obliged to be oppressive and tyrannical. - Adam Smith

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The first book-length treatment of Adam Smith’s rhetorical theory. ... Read more

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"This is a modern classic." —Paul A. Samuelson, First American Nobel Prize Winner in Economics

"The best book there is about the stock market and all that goes with it." —The New York Times Book Review

"Anyone whose orientation is toward where the action is, where the happenings happen, should buy a copy of The Money Game and read it with due diligence." —Book World

" 'Adam Smith' is a veteran observer and commentator on the events and people of Wall Street.... His thorough knowledge of financial affairs gives his observations a great degree of authenticity. But the joy of reading this book comes from his delightful sense of humor. He is a lively and ingeniously witty writer who never stoops to acerbity. None of the solemn, sacred cows of Wall Street escapes debunking." —Library Journal ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Could have been written by the real Adam Smith
This book is an excellent take on the Wall Street speculator-financial manipulator crowd as it existed in the late 1960's when the regulatory apparatus had not been captured/deregulated and was still in place to protect the "sober " people from the Wall Street crowd of projectors,imprudent risk takers,and prodigals,to use the description of the original Adam Smith.

The only problem with this book is that the present day writer who calls himselfAdam Smith does not cover the real Adam Smith ina satisfactory way.He does understand his Keynes from the expose made by Keynes in chapter 12 of the GT(1936) about the deleterious impact of the speculators on Wall Street on the economic prospects of Main Street.

Not Impressive, not fits the today's market trends
Market and economies of countries are changing... This book is written long back...no more effective as per current trends. Author has told the things that a layman knows how to trade now a days.

I will say better interested people should go for new authors that provide a better views as per current money trends.

Very dissapointing book for me.

An All Time Great Book for All Readers
As a teenager I read this book when it first hit the shelves.It started my early education in managing money and great nonfiction writing.The Money Game is a series of vignettes and stories about people trying to achieve fortune and fame and peace of mind on Wall Street.It is not a textbook, although you will learn the fundamental principles of fear and greed and the basics of investment strategies as told through a specific story or person.

While The Money Game is a book about money, it is an excellent example of first rate nonfiction writing.In my own writing throughout a long publishing life in academic publication, I have returned to The Money Game for examples of well structured chapters and nicely turned sentences.'Adam Smith' (the pseudonym for George Goodman) is one of the best writers I've encountered.His style is made more apparent through reading the following companion book to The Money Game, Super Money.If you read both books back to back, the structure and style jumps out almost like a teacher writing an equation on the board.

Must-read for finance ph.d.
It's an actually must-read for all investors.This is an extreme excellent book and can be treated as one of the first pioneer books about behavior finance. All the ideas in the book are what behavior finance scholars try to model. If things work, we don't need to construct a fancy model to prove them. We can just describe them as the author of the book did. I can safely conclude there are more than 10 NEW papers which could be done based on the book alone.

I love this book
"If I really had a system for making money in the market and it worked all the time, first of all, I wouldn't tell anybody and second of all, I would soon have just about all the money there is."Adam Smith p. 122

Thank you for being so honest.Amazingly this book has helped me more than all the other "How to make millions in the stock market" books I have read.It is well-written and filled with information, humor, advice and wisdom.It touches on everything from the fabled Mister Johnson (I have a strong suspicion that Peter Lynch got his inspiration for One Up On Wall Street from this book) to charting and random walk theory.The reader is encouraged to find his own trading style and use the wealth of information from the book.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Few would argue that Adam Smith was one of the great minds of the eighteenth century. He is perceived through his best-known book, The Wealth of Nations, as the founder of economics as a science, and his ideas about the free market and the role of the state (in relation to it) continue to influence modern economic thought. Yet Smith achieved even more as a man of letters, as a moralist, historian, and critic.

The Life of Adam Smith, the first full-scale biography of Smith in a hundred years, is a superb account of Smith's life and work, encompassing a career that spanned some of the defining moments in world history, including the American and French Revolutions. Here author Ian Simpson Ross examines Smith's family life, education, career, intellectual circle (including David Hume and Francois Quesnay), and his contemporaries (the likes of Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, and Thomas Jefferson), bringing to life this great thinker and author. Readers will meet Smith as a student at a lively Glasgow University and at a sleepy Oxford; a freelance lecturer delivering popular classes on rhetoric; an innovative university teacher ("by far the most useful, and therefore," Smith wrote, "by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life"); then a tutor travelling abroad with a Duke; an acclaimed political economist; a policy advisor to governments during and after the American Revolution; and finally, if paradoxically in view of his strongly held tenets, a Commissioner of Customs coping with free traders in the smuggling business. But it his impact as a writer that continues to set Adam Smith apart today. The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, as the British Parliament was deep in debate about the American colonies, continues to influence modern economic theory throughout the world. Ross sheds new light on this classic work and on its meaning for today. And he also paints a vivid portrait of Smith's personal life, revealing a man of singular generosity of spirit, who believed that with wit and logic and sensitivity to our feelings, we might aspire to virtue rather than wealth, and so become members of a truly civil society.

Upon Adam Smith's death in 1790, a friend wrote of him, "Happy are those who at the close of life can reflect that they have lived to a valuable purpose by contributing, as he did, to enlighten mankind, and to spread the blessings of peace and liberty and virtue." The Life of Adam Smith illuminates the world of a man whose legacy of thought concerns and affects us all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Academic biography
Those who are not looking for an academic biography should check out Adam Smith: The Man and His Works by E. G. West.It's concise, elegantly written, and keenly insightful.Only specialists and academics need bother with Ross's tome.

Solid account of his life's impact on Smith's writing.
Easy to read in spite of the larger-than-life reputation of Adam Smith.Presents Adam Smith the man as a bit of an absent minder professor who talked to himself.

However, the book shines in connecting Smith's lifeexperiences to their effect on his thinking and writing.Extensive use ismade of Smith's correspondence to flesh out ideas presented in hispublished works.The author is clearly more comfortable with the pedigreeof thought behind "The Theory of Moral Sentiment" rather than"The Wealth of Nations", but Smith's ecomonics are still giventhorough treatment.The disconnect between Smith's free trade theories andhis work as a Commissioner of Customs is explored to the full.

A quickread and a delightful look into the Scottish Enlightenment.

Fine insight into Smith and an 18th centurylife.
This is an extraordinarily interesting biography, especially for its insight into the very different world of 18th century Scotland.Smith's student start at Glasgow University with six professors, at which and education could be obtained for 10 pounds a year.His first book -- A Theory of Moral Sentiments -- in which he developed his concepts of morality, and which he kept revising along with A Wealth of Nations until his death.His firstprotest against tariffs -- an import duty on oats into the city of Glasgow, which would be unfair to his students who brought oats and peas from home and lived on 1 or 2 pounds a year for food. Writing is a bit turgid, eighteenth centuryish. Still, I keep thinking about the bits and pieces of the life of this most interesting man. ... Read more

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D. D. Raphael provides a critical account of the moral philosophy of Adam Smith, presented in his first book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Whilst it does not have the same prominence in its field as his work on economics, The Wealth of Nations, Smith's writing on ethics is of continuing importance and interest today, especially for its theory of conscience. Smith sees the origin of conscience in the sympathetic and antipathetic feelings of spectators. As spectators of the actions of other people, we can imagine how we would feel in their situation. If we would share their motives, we approve of their action. If not, we disapprove. When we ourselves take an action, we know from experience what spectators would feel, approval or disapproval. That knowledge forms conscience, an imagined impartial spectator who tells us whether an action is right or wrong. In describing the content of moral judgment, Smith is much influenced by Stoic ethics, with an emphasis on self-command, but he voices criticism as well as praise. His own position is a combination of Stoic and Christian values.

There is a substantial difference between the first five editions of the Moral Sentiments and the sixth. Failure to take account of this has led some commentators to mistaken views about the supposed youthful idealism of the Moral Sentiments as contrasted with the mature realism of The Wealth of Nations. A further source of error has been the supposition that Smith treats sympathy as the motive of moral action, as contrasted with the supposedly universal motive of self-interest in The Wealth of Nations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Pragmatic Conscience
Smith's foundational theory of Moral Sentiment is usually misunderstood--turning the innate human power of sympathy (an imaginative power into what other people are doing, and why) into merely feeling nice about other people's action, when instead it activates our conscience, where we exercise the power of judgment between sympathy and antipathy (for the actions of others). Conscience thus for us is an intuited Impartial Spectator, impartial because not partisan even toward our own actions (since we can imagine how others see how we act and why, and how they'd judge us.)

Conscience is not w/o practical effect, however, we need to realize, even though it has an impartial touchstone; nor is conscience merely a matter of private morality: indeed, it is directly connected to the role of self-interest and comparative advantage in generating the perhaps positive outcome of the market which he calls the Wealth of Nations. We misunderstand Smith's economic analysis, furthermore, if we think that he sees only positive effects of the Invisible Hand of these market forces; the problem he identifies in the latter book is the likely negative outcomes of that private motive and this public market process; so he adds a whole new section to the sixth ed. of the earlier book, detailing the solution in a just political oeconomy, of univerally provided education in virtues (Stoic and Christian) and religious training.

Conscience is a moral factor and therefore a political factor as well: Smith's philosophy of political economy includes more than just capitalism. Smith anticipates Marx's critique of capitalism, and Smith is not to be confused with the purely libertarian or Utilitarian laissez-faire politics. When he authorizes government to provide for moral and religious education 'free if necessary,' he probably doesn't mean just a welfare or educational bureaucracy; it's a matter of political constitution first, and private charity second, the capitalist provision of public needs via the market's Invisible Hand moreover, third, and only a gov't safety net as a last resort (since official charities are relatively ineffective at doing what they are supposed to do, as Smith and our own experience testify.)

So conscience is the key to pragmatic philosophy, and Socrates would agree; too often people leave the conscience out of the ethical equation, when they endorse what they call 'practical' or 'pragmatic' actions, which turn out to be motivated by an uncritical self-interest or ideology, and which specifically lack the imaginative power of sympathy that must inform judgment. William James, Dewey, and more recent, Sophistical neo-pragmatists should take note of this psychological underpinning that must serve to correct our self-interested, self-serving decisions.

4.5 Stars-Excellent but overlooks Smith's major reason for coming out with the 6th edition of TMS
Raphael(R) has done a masterful job in presenting an exposition of Smith's moral philosophy.Smith conceives thatall individuals activate their conscience by postulating the existence in each human being of an impartial mental spectator who is able to discern ,independently from the subjective biases of the individual human observor,what is objectively happening in any particular decision context.The emotion of sympathy is triggered.Sympathy is the key emotion that needs to be understood if one truly wishes tounderstand moral judgement.Sympathy is not a synonym for pity ,compassion,or expressing feelings of sorrow or regret.The proper role for evaluating the role of sympathy occurs in judgement and not motivation.Essentially,we are all able to put ourselves in the shoes of the human decision maker and walk a couple of miles along the particular path of life that he is taking.Our judgement of rightness or wrongness is based on this mental reconstruction of this path and our own assessment about how WE would behave if stuck in his shoes.

R correctly concludes that Smith has integrated many major aspects and concerns of the Stoic philosophers and early Christian fathers concerning the importance of justice as it relates to all aspects of a human beings life.


The only criticism I have of R's treatment is ubiquitous to all extant writings on Smith's moral and economic theories for the last 248 years.There really is no mystery as to why Smith was compelled to put out a 6th edition of TMS in 1790,some 15 years after the last revision in 1775.Smith's entirely new part VI on the character of virtue and the essential neccessity of promoting morality as a necessary social good follows directly from his discussions in the Wealth of Nations(1776;Modern Library[Cannan] edition)concerning major undepletable,negative externalities,and spillover effects which impact the moral,social,political,martial,and intellectual well being and development of practically the entire workforce,that are a direct byproduct of the workings of the powerful wealth creating process of individual self interest,comparative advantage, and the division of labor that Smith characterized as an Invisible Hand(of the market mechanism)on p.423.Smith discusses these negative spillover effects in great detail on pp.734-741 of the WN.Smith's solution is that government is the ONLY institution that can deal with this immense and massiveproblem.How will this severe externality ,created by the workings of the Invisible Hand, be dealt with ? Smith states that the entire work force MUST be provided with education and religious instruction,which will be provided free of charge ,if necessary ,to all those who can't afford to pay.Smith's entire discussion on pp.716-768 should be carefully read by all modern day economists since there is not a better discussionof market failure,public goods,and externalities-spillover effects in the current literature.Smith is not merely arguing for public schools.

WE can now see more clearly the connections between the new part VI of the 1790 edition of TMS and the WN.This new part of TMS is the new theoretical construct and foundation that provides the theoreticalsupportfor the applied policy analysis advocated by Smith in the WN, in Part V,pp.716-768, that is needed to deal with the dark side of the Invisible Hand Process.What happens if it is NOT dealt with by government action ? What will occur is the "...almost entire corruption and degeneracy of the great body of people "(Smith,p.734;Smith repeats this conclusion 5 times over the next 7 pages).It is now obvious that a major tenet of Marxist analysis is that this severe undepletable externality,first identified by Adam Smith in 1776 and regularly deemphasized by the economics profession fornearly 250 years,will NOT BE DEALT WITH BY GOVERNMENT.This is one of Marx's major premises.This,of course,will result ina very depressing future for the entire working class.Marx's prediction was that, eventually,the working class would rise up to deal with this problem themselves in a revolutionary way.On the other hand,Government actions to reduce or eliminate the negative impacts created by the Invisible Hand process ,leads to a very different outcome-an increased economic well being that is combined with a completely educated and intellectually developed working class applying the principles of Smith's final edition of the TMS,which were virtue and morality.This is ,of course,a 180 degree turn from the wide claims made by economists that Smith was an advocate of free market,laissez faire capitalism that concluded that private greed and avarice would lead to a social optimum if only government would get out of the way.This latter characterization of Smith is simply a bad joke .

An interesting topic for development is WHY no economist,philosopher or political theorist had dealt with this issue since 1759.Perhaps Raphael will write a future book correcting this lacuna. ... Read more

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An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is the brainchild of Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. Originally published in 1776. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I loved the book!!!
It's very good reading, the letters are really good. I just finsh reading John Adams that's a really good book too. And I just brought John Adams DVD it was on HBO early this spring!!! I'm trying find more books on John and Abigail books and other time period books in the 1700 and other history books. I just can't find any but I keep trying. I know they are there I just have I to looked!!!

The First Harvard Collection of Adams Letters--1975
This collection is the first assemblage of the letters between John and Abigail Adams published by Harvard University Press.Subsequently, in 2007, an expanded collection was published by Harvard, under the editorship of different scholars, with the title of "My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams" (which I also reviewed on Amazon).While the newer version has more letters (289 v. 226), and covers the period of John's Vice Presidency and Presidency, this earlier edition continues to have value.It includes more editorial material, some correspondence with third parties, and a larger number of illustrations--though not the beautiful color plates found in the newer volume. As I mentioned in my other review, the star of the letters clearly is Abigail, who carried on alone under the most challenging of circumstances while John was absent.She manifests both a literate perspective, as well as a sharp eye for political issues.John's letters afford an invaluable insight into a most critical period of American history; especially perceptive are his assessments of some of the leading political figures of the day.Either volume is well worthy of consideration and study--perusing both is doubly helpful.

Good History Book
This was a very interesting book showing the way a women saw the start of a new country.It also shows the sacrifice that both John and Abigail both had to make to still be together while John was helping the colonies.John tells Abigail all of the political happenings that have been going on not including deaths etc...Abigail is very much into politics and reminds John to "remember the ladies" when writing the Declaration of Independence.This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn more about the war at a different perspective than what just the history books say. ... Read more

Product Description
The Wealth of Nations is the masterpiece of the economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. It was first published in 1776. It is an account of economics at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, as well as a rhetorical piece written for the generally educated individual of the 18th century - advocating a free market economy as more productive and more beneficial to society. The book is often considered to have laid the basic groundwork for modern economic theory.
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Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Be Careful of Alternate Title
I don't have this book, but just a forewarning to be careful of which one you buy. George Adam Smith has another book entitled 'The historical geography of the Holy Land' without the subtitle which is ~540 pages instead of 700 something. I gave this four stars based on what I believe was my rating for that title, only because I couldn't post it without rating it. ... Read more

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First time in paperback! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

What is 'SuperMoney?'
In my opinion, the other reviewers miss the mark on this book.I bought this book when it first came out (yes, I was at the Lincoln inauguration...).

Anyway, this book has stuck with me all of those years for one over-riding principle...SuperMoney.What is SuperMoney?SuperMoney is the money you get when you leverage your own investment in your business into a publicly-traded company, and multiply it many times over.

Let's say you have a clever idea, and start a business.Let's say it's a furniture company, called, oh, I don't know, maybe Levitz Furniture (Levitz furniture, now defunct, pioneered the furniture warehouse concept.Some people will remember the musical slogan, 'You'll love it at Levitz!).This is an example from the book.

Anyway, you start this company.It's successful.You open a couple more branches.They are successful.You decide to incorporate and sell stock.The financial community suddenly falls in love with the idea of a furniture superstore, because they've never heard of such an idea before.

Now, your company, which started out pretty small, now has lots of people bidding up your company's stock.It turns out to be a hot stock.Since you started the company, you own most of the stock.Congratulations, my friend, you now have wheelbarrows full of money.SuperMoney!Remember the fancy furniture store that would never buy your mass-market furniture, with the owner who held his nose up in the air?Want revenge?Buy it! Use your new-found wealth, SuperMoney.Just sell off some of your stock, or have the company issue more stock and use that to trade for the assets of the hoity-toity company.Fire the manager who used to look down at you!

Or let's say you own a big, but boring utility company.Yes, you are rich, but nobody invites you to flashy parties where starlets (yes, that is a word) flit around and the champagne flows like water.Peel off some of that SuperMoney, and buy, I don't know...maybe a movie studio!Or maybe a fancy winery selling wines whose names you can't pronounce!Or maybe a super-snooty hotel where the restaurant sells $100 dinner courses!

It's a whole new world out there, isn't it?SuperMoney!

Highly recommended.This is an extremely entertaining book that explains the often arcane concepts such as leverage and publicly-traded companies in fun and illuminating (and real) examples.

Willie Sutton used to say he robbed banks because that's where the money was.Why risk jail time when you can be wealthier than you ever dreamed possible...just read this book, and come up with something new and catchy...

Boring
I got this book because having heard it is a classic but I never made it past the first chapter because the writing is this old style and it's really boring to the core.

Entertaining Follow up to The Money Game
Super Money is the follow up book to the earlier and wildly successful Money Game by 'Adam Smith' the pseudonym chosen by George Goodman.Super Money provides a series of linked vignettes of the adventures in the pursuit of money.The big news from this 1970s book is its identification of Warren Buffett (yes, that one) as the outstanding money manager of his time.Forty years ago 'Adam Smith' got it right with Mr. Buffett.The remainder of the book is just as accurate and informative even though it's the Old Old Thing.I would also more highly recommend the early book, The Money Game.

Great history lesson
I've always loved reading books written about investing.Supermoney provides the reader with a basic fundamental view of his accounts of investing in the 60's & 70's.I found the first couple of chapters to be interesting...it got a little slow towards the end though.If I got anything from reading this book, it had to be about Supercurrency.The author describes it as super wealth creation via the stock market and more specifically the IPO market.Create a company, go public and become instant millionaires and billionaires.The author also describes it as "minting wealth" from nothing. ... Read more

Product Description
This standard biography of the founder of political economy provides indispensable background reading for the study of eighteenth century economic thought. This edition includes an exhaustive new introduction, "Guide to John Rae's Life of Adam Smith," by Jacob Viner which includes close critical commentary on various ambiguities or insufficiently covered points in Rae's narrative, as well as a chronology, publication list and index. Viner noted that as a comprehensive biography, it had "no substantial predecessor. Seventy years later, it still has no substantial successor ... That judgment is still valid." The New Palgrave ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Read
Not in the same league as 'The Life of Adam Smith' by Ross, it is still a very easy and good read about the life and times of the incomparable Adam Smith. Some of the chapters seem very brief, especially those that deal with his two great works: 'Wealth of Nations' and 'Theory of Moral Sentiments.'

Well worth the buy! ... Read more

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Adam Smith wrote two books, one about economics and the other about morality. How do these books go together? How do markets and morality mix? James Otteson provides a comprehensive examination and interpretation of Smith's moral theory and demonstrates how his conception of morality applies to his understanding of markets, language and other social institutions. Considering Smith's notions of natural sympathy, the impartial spectator, human nature and human conscience, the author addresses whether Smith thinks that moral judgments enjoy a transcendent sanction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The best on Smith's 'Moral Sentiments'!
I did say that Criswold's work on Smith's moral sentiments was the best work available. But now that I have discovered Ottenson's magnificent volume, I have changed my mind.

I am now on the 3rd reading of this book and find new gems every time. It is clear, well presented (although some would say a little repetitious, but for my slow mind, that helps to reinforce what has been said)and well balanced in its judgments, comments and comparisons, especially with the so-called 'Adam Smith problem' of what he wrote in Moral Sentiments compared to his later work in Wealth of Nations. In other words, Ottenson describes very clearly what Smith's magnificent book is all about.

Smith's Moral Sentiments is one of the best kept secrets of Enlightenment writing and Ottenson's book is both a great introduction to Smith's work as well as satisfying to the Smith scholar.

It is MUST reading! ... Read more

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Compelling and timely
This book is the best account of how Adam Smith has come to be presented as the father of neo-liberalism that I've yet come across.Milgate and Stimson deserve thanks for rescuing this story from the hands of those purveyors free-market ideology who claim that self interest and economic rationalism can provide solutions to all our current problems. ... Read more

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Adam Smith and the Circles of Sympathy pursues Adam Smith's views on moral judgement, humanitarian care, commerce, justice and international law both in historical context and through a twenty-first century cosmopolitan lens, making this a major and timely contribution not only to Smith studies but also to the history of cosmopolitan thought and to contemporary cosmopolitan discourse itself. Forman-Barzilai breaks new ground, demonstrating the spatial texture of Smith's moral psychology and the ways he believed that physical, affective and cultural distance constrain the identities, connections and ethical obligations of modern commercial people. Forman-Barzilai emphasises his resistance to the sort of relativism, moral insularity and cultural chauvinism that too often accompany localist critiques of cosmopolitan thought today. This is a timely, revisionist study that integrates the perspectives of intellectual history, moral philosophy, political theory, cultural theory, international relations theory and political economy, and will appeal across the humanities and social sciences. ... Read more

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Two of the most influential political works combined into one collection. The set is fully searchable, however does not contain a clickable TOC. ... Read more

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Adam Smith was a Scottish professor of moral philosophy. He published his classic The Wealth of Nations in London in 1776, the year the American Revolution began Smith became widely known for his ideas on free markets, laissez-faire capitalism, and the invisible hand of a wealth-creating business society. Yet English politicians, landed gentry, and the nobility paid little attention and enacted none of Smiths suggested reforms.The American colonies, however, began their existence as an independent nation in 1781 with no money, no industry, no banks, and deep in debt. The Founding Fathersparticularly Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklinturned to the ideas of Adam Smith to create and jump-start an economic system for America with both immediate and long-sustained results.This little-known part of U.S. history is now revealed in Roy C. Smiths fascinating new book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Say What?

Mr Brady's comments begin with an anachronism, and don't get much better. Jean-Baptiste Say was nine years old when America declared its independence in 1776. None of his thoughts on political economy were even published until 1789.

Clearly, Say could not have influenced the Founders Mr Brady approves of, at least not literally, in the way he suggests.

-- J. C. Legere

The title of the book is correct but not much else
R Smith is certainly correct that Hamilton,Washington,Madison,Franklin,etc.,had either read the Wealth of Nations(WN,1776) or were familiar with its point of view.Of course,these individuals formed the Federalists.They were the real thing as far as genuine conservatism is concerned.They were opposed by the Anti Federalsts(Mason,Randolph,Henry,Paine,Jefferson,etc.)who took their cue from the work of J B Say.These individuals are not conservatives.They are libertarians.It is this group that believed in laissez faire,opposed all tariffs,opposed a uniform currency,opposed the creation of a central bank to control the problematic behavior of private commercial banks,opposed the creation of a strong federal government,opposed giving the federal government the power to tax,etc.R Smith has obviously not read the Wealth of Nations in its entirety because the realAdam Smith favored overall progressive taxes,supported both revenue and retaliatory tariffs,supported extensive public goods and works spending by a democratically elected government(as opposed to the " Government" tyranny of George III.R Smith badly misrepresents Smith's views here),had a very clear understanding of free market failure,externalities and spillover effects,the need to prevent any bank loans from going to projectors(J M Keynes's rentiers and speculators),prodigals,and imprudent risk takers,the need to fix the rate of interest in the long run permanently at a low level a little bit above the prime rate,the skewing of loans to the sober middle class entrepreneurs who would use the loans to create productive jobs and not leveraged buyouts ,dot com frauds,and subprime scams, and the importance of making sure that all individuals had an education and religious instruction that would be provided free of charge by the state if they were unable to pay for such education themselves.Thereis no substantial discussion of any of these Smithian topics anywhere in R Smith's book.R Smith appears to believe that Adam Smith was a libertarian.Nothing could be further from the truth.The interested reader is encouraged to read pp.280-340,especially Smith's summary on pp.339-340,434-439,681-690,716-768,and 794-795 of the Modern Library(Cannan)edition of the WN to discover the real Adam Smith.You will not find him in this book.

Straight-forward, center-right review
Roy C. Smith offers a readable, straight-forward, right-of-center review of the famous economist, Adam Smith.The book introduces Smith's thoughts in basic detail, and spends a great deal of time putting Smith in the context of the American revolution, which of course is when "The Wealth of Nations" was published, in 1776.At times the history seems to drown-out the thems of Adam Smith's contribution, but by the conclusion the author ties up his thesis that Adam Smith's thought had a pervasive and substantial impact on the Founding Fathers, and upon the way Americans have done busness since then.A good read for introductory or undergraduate readers.Author's focus remains on Smith and American context.Little mention of John Maynard Keynes is made, and no discusion of Marx or socialism as a competing alternative.This did not detract from book, as plenty of other books and articles speak to those subjects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Oil crises
In the 1970s, the world economy suffered heavily from brutal spikes in the oil price.
One of the culprits was OPEC, which was formed on the model of the 'Texas Railroad Commission'.
The rise in the oil price provoked an enormous wealth transfer from the oil consuming to the oil producing countries.
Moreover, the oil consuming countries were confronted with the choice between higher taxes or printing money and chose for the latter. But in the US, the bill of the Vietnam War was still not paid. It all ended in stagflation, a mighty drop of the dollar (`my swissies') and a real estate bust.

Adam Smith gives us also a brilliant course on the origin of banks and money.

This book reads like a thriller and is a must read for all those interested in the economy of the 1970s in the West.

For an in depth analysis of the oil crises, I highly recommend the book by F. William Engdahl `A Century of War.'

Deja Vu all over again
This is a great book.Written in '80 (pub date 81) it analyzes the underlying economy that gave rise to the late 70's 'stagflation'.It does not give a prescription for investing in such a period (which appears to be returning) but allows the astute reader to study the economic policies put in place in the 80's that "cured" the country.

The author has a wonderful, positive voice that makes reading this economic text a pleasure.

Incredible
What a surprise! Just read this book to discover that the present economical crisis started when US become involved with OPEC. Read this book as if the dates were 2008. You will see that the world is in real trouble. An excellent introduction to US dependency on easy money and credit.

Paper Money by Adam Smith
This book written in the early eighties really spelled out what is happening today in regard to the foreclosures and the price of oil and why it is so high. After reading this book I realize the American Dollar is worthless on the world market. Everyone should read this book!

One of my all time favorites...
I first read this book back when it came out, and have reread it twice over the years since.It's lessons continue to be relevant.I have to say that some of the other reviews I've read here, leave me scratching my head as to how they could find it boring, or complain in one case that the book gets boughed down talking about OPEC.Gold, the oil industry, OPEC, and their effects on the economy are the whole point of the book!Like anything else, I guess, you take out what you put in.So, don't read this book if you aren't interested in knowing how these worked then, and continue to work now in shaping the economic realities we all struggle to coexist with. ... Read more

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Mr Dobb examines the history of economic thought in the light of the modern controversy over capital theory and, more particularly, the appearance of Sraffa's book The Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, which was a watershed in the critical discussions constituted a crucial turning-point in the history of economics: an estimate not unconnected with his reinterpretation of nineteenth-century economic thought as consisting of two streams or traditions commonly confused under the generic title of 'the classical tradition' against which Jevons so strongly reacted. ... Read more