Free Thinking: Adam Smith
Published: 30 June 2023
The father of capitalism or a sensitive moral philosopher? Anne McElvoy hears about the unexpected side of Adam Smith and his enduring presence in modern political economy.
Adam Smith has been claimed as the defender of self-interest and advocate of free market economics, but his reputation has undergone a recent reappraisal. With his tercentenary in 2023, Anne McElvoy hears about the unexpected side of Adam Smith and his enduring presence in modern political economy.
Glory Liu is a Lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard University. Her first book, Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism, is a history of the reception of Adam Smith's ideas in America.
Maha Rafi Atal is a lecturer in Global Economy at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow. Dafydd Mills Daniel is a lecturer in Divinity at the University of St Andrews who looks at the history of philosophy and religious thought. He is a BBC Radio 3 AHRC New Generation Thinker.
Roos Slegers is an Assistant Professor in the School of Humanities and Digital Sciences at Tilburg University. Her research focuses on the intersection of philosophy, literature and economics in the late 18th-century authors.
Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds.
First published: 30 June 2023