In 1776 Adam Smith (1723-90) wrote The Wealth of Nations, a book so foundational it has led to him being called the 'father of economics'. Today he is associated with the promotion of self-interest, a defence of greed and a criticism of any governmental 'interference' in market transactions...

Adam Smith (1721-90) is a thinker with a distinctive perspective on human behaviour and social institutions. He is best known as the author of the 'An Inquiry into the Nature' and 'Causes of the Wealth of Nations' (1776). Yet his work is name-checked more often than it is read and then typically...

Acknowledgements --Abbreviations to Adam Smith's Works --Introduction --Commercial Society, History, and the Four Stages Theory --Domination, Liberty, and the Rule of Law --Smith and Rousseau, after Hume and Mandeville --Whose Corruption, Which Polity? --The Conspiracy of the Merchants...