Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)

Economists and politicians have turned him into a mascot for free-market ideology. Some on the left say the right has badly misread him. In this updated replay of a 2022 episode, we hold a very Smithy tug of war. SOURCES: Eamonn Butler , co-founder and director of the Adam Smith Institute. Glory Liu , a political scientist and Adam Smith scholar at Georgetown University. Mariana Mazzucato , professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London. Dennis Rasmussen , a professor of political science at Syracuse University. Russ Roberts , president of Shalem College in in Jerusalem; host of the EconTalk podcast; and author. Craig Smith , Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at the University of Glasgow. RESOURCES: Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism , by Gloria Liu (2022). " Henry and Adam: A Deep and Special Friendship ," by Benny Higgins ( Adam Smith Panmure House Perspective , 2020). " Rescuing Adam Smith From Myth and Misrepresentation ," ( The Economist, 2018). The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought , by Dennis C. Rasm…