Adam Smith (1723-1790)
[Created: 23 February, 2023]
[Updated:
March 24, 2024
]
About the Author
See the entry on this author in the Cato Institute's Encyclopedia of Libertarianism (2008) - Ronald Hamowy, “Smith, Adam (1723-1790)” <https://www.libertarianism.org/topics/smith-adam-1723-1790>.
See the entry on this author in the Stanford Enclyclopedia of Philosophy - Fleischacker, Samuel, “Adam Smith’s Moral and Political Philosophy”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/smith-moral-political/>.
A paper I wrote for the 300th anniversary of Smith's birth: “Putting the ‘Political’ back into Adam Smith’s Political Economy: Smith on Power and Privilege, Faction and Fanaticism, and Corruption and Conspiracies” which I wrote in September 2023. I thought it might be useful to bring the relevant texts on this topic under one roof as AS's thinking on this topic is not well known. The 73 quotes or extracts are in this anthology and are grouped under the major headings I used in that paper: Adam Smith on Class and the State: An Anthology. Edited by David M. Hart (Sydney: Pittwater Free Press, 2023) [HTML]. See also the collection of images of "Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Adam Smith: Smith’s Theory of Ranks, Class, and Government".
About the Texts
Not all texts are available in all formats. The "foundation text" is the facsimile PDF of the original book. Many of these are available in HTML, the early version of which was fairly simple. Current versions are available in "enhanced HTML" which includes the original page numbers and the "citation tool" and is in a more readable format for viewing online. A selection of the more important texts are part of the "Guillaumin Collection" of the great books about liberty and are also available in a variety of eBook formats, such as HTML, PDF, and ePub.
Clicking on the headings "DATE", and "TITLE" will sort the table accordingly. A second click will reverse the order.
Texts in the Collection
| DATE | FACS. PDF | TITLE | EBOOK | |
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| 1766 |  |
Lectures on Jurisprudence (1766) Adam Smith, Lectures on Jurisprudence (1763-1766). Edited by David M. Hart (The Pittwater Free Press, 2023). A plain text version of this book was made available by the Oxford Text Archive at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, which is distributed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0). This book is available in various formats:
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| 1776 |  |
Wealth of Nations (1776 1st ed.) Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. By Adam Smith, LL.D. and F.R.S. Formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, in The Strand, MDCCLXXVI (1776)). This book is available in various formats:
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| 1790 |  |
Theory of Moral Sentiments (1790 - 6th revised edition) Adam Smith, THE THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS; OR, An ESSAY towards an Analysis of the Principles by which Men naturally judge concerning the Conduct and Character, first of their Neighbours, and afterwards of themselves. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A Dissertation on the Origin of Languages. By ADAM SMITH, LL. D. Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; One of the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs in Scotland; and formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. Printed for A. STRAHAN; and T. CADELL in the Strand; and W. Creech, and J. BELL and Co. at Edinburgh. MDCCXC. This book is available in various formats:
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| 1853 |  |
The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1853 Stewart ed.) Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments; or, An Essay towards an Analysis of the Principles by which Men naturally judge concerning the Conduct and Character, first of their Neighbours, and afterwards of themselves. To which is added, A Dissertation on the Origins of Languages. New Edition. With a biographical and critical Memoir of the Author, by Dugald Stewart (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853). This book is available in various formats:
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| 1896 |  |
Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue and Arms (1896 Cannan ed.) Adam Smith, Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue and Arms. Delivered In The University of Glasgow by Adam Smith. Reported by a Student in 1763. And Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Edwin Cannan (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896). This book is available in various formats:
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| 1904 |  |
Wealth of Nations ( Cannan ed. 1904) Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, edited with an Introduction, Notes, Marginal Summary and an Enlarged Index by Edwin Cannan (London: Methuen, 1904). 2 vols. This book is available in various formats:
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| 2023 |  |
Class and the State Adam Smith on Class and the State: An Anthology. Edited by David M. Hart (Sydney: Pittwater Free Press, 2023). [HTML] This anthology of the thoughts of Adam Smith on class, class conflict, and the state was compiled in the process of writing a paper entitled “Putting the ‘Political’ back into Adam Smith’s Political Economy: Smith on Power and Privilege, Faction and Fanaticism, and Corruption and Conspiracies” which I wrote in September 2023. I thought it might be useful to bring them under one roof as AS's thinking on this topic is not well known. The 73 quotes or extracts are grouped under the major headings I used in that paper, which are listed below. See also the collection of images of "Vocabulary Clusters in the Thought of Adam Smith: Smith’s Theory of Ranks, Class, and Government" |
