Scholars’ tendency to read the great economist through the lens of their own philosophical and political commitments is neither unexpected nor helpful. One book helps us identify some of those biases and also something closer to Smith’s true legacy.
<p>Glory M. Liu's account of Adam Smith's reception in America explains how American politicians read selectively in Smith's capacious writings on political economy and public morality to construct a self-interested view of the market as a natural phenomenon, writes historian Kim Phillips-Fein. </p>