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

382 Pages·2022·5.69 MB·English

by  Glory M. Liu

adam smith’s ameri c a

Adam Smith’s Amer i ca
how a scottish phil oso p her
became an icon of
american capitalism
glory m. liu
prince ton university press
princet on & oxford
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ISBN 978-0-691-20381-2
ISBN (e- book) 978-0-691-24087-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022939557
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To all my teachers.

contents
List of Illustrations ix
Abbreviations xi
Prologue xiii
Introduction 1
1 The Best Book Extant 12
2 Whence He Is Called Its Founder 69
3 The Apostle of Free Trade 112
4 In the Vanguard of the New School 146
5 Economics Must Be Po liti cal Economy 190
6 Alive and Well and Living in Chicago 215
7 Turning Smith Back on the Pre sent 255
Epilogue 289
Acknowl edgments 305
References 311
Index 337
vii

illustrations
0.1. Alexander Gordon, Lord Rockville; Adam Smith;
George Brown by John Kay (1787) xxiv
1.1. Thomas Dobson’s first American edition of
The Wealth of Nations (1789) 22
2.1. Wheelock H. Parmly’s notebook on Po liti cal Economy
(1841–1842) 92
2.2. E.E. Babcock’s notebook on Po liti cal Economy
(ca. 1849) 93
6.1. George Stigler 228
6.2. Milton Friedman 248
ix