The 18th-century Scottish economist Adam Smith published his most influential work, The Wealth of Nations, in 1776—a year of singular historical resonance for Americans. In the centuries since, the book has come to play a uniquely controversial role in U.S. political and economic life, claimed with almost equal fervor by the free market right and the social democratic left.
On the surface, Smith seems an unlikely figure to inspire more than two centuries of heated debate. Born in a small Scottish village, he was a lifelong bachelor, sometimes academic, and public servant. His fame and reputation rest principally on Wealth of Nations, which opens with a famous discussion of a pin factory able to profit off the division of labor thanks to broad markets and the freedom to pursue one’s own self-interest. This narrative seemed to view restraints to competition as obstacles to growth and has been embraced by apostles of the free market.
Yet Smith’s views were more nuanced than this narrow interpretation. In , he argues that “when the regulation… is in favor of the workmen, it is always just and equitable.” And his first published work, —which emphasizes “sympathy” rather than “self-interest”—has surprisingly egalitarian instincts.
