This article questions Adam Smith’s commitment to the notion of a beneficent Deity, or “all-perfect Being,” whose purpose is to promote the “real happiness” of humankind. It is argued that Smith conceals his true position in The Theory of Moral Sentiments by emphasizing the deceptive...

Based on an appraisal of Smith's (nonutilitarian) understanding of happiness in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, this article considers the possible origin, meaning, and fate of the “real measure” qua index of social happiness/welfare. It is suggested that the original welfare usage was a...

This article questions the widely held opinion that Adam Smith confined his use of a labor theory of exchangeable value to an “early and rude state of society” in which independent laborers exchange the surplus products of their labor. It is argued that Smith did not explicitly disavow a...