Books by Adam Smith
Five Books
Expert commentary on books by Adam Smith the Scottish economist.
/favicon.ico
Five Books
The Theory of Moral Sentiments

by Adam Smith

The Theory of Moral Sentiments, first published in 1759, was based on lectures on ethics Adam Smith gave after becoming a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow. While Smith is better known for his later work, The Wealth of Nations (published in 1776, the same year as America's Declaration of Independence), which described the workings of the capitalist economy, Smith himself considered The Theory of Moral Sentiments the better of the two books. More than two centuries later its observations and insights continue to be relevant, as our interviews with politicians, economists and philosophers below make clear:

Read expert recommendations

The Wealth of Nations

by Adam Smith

The Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776, is the founding text of modern economics. But as our interviews with experts below make clear, its author, Adam Smith, was a moral philosopher and no unabashed cheerleader for the capitalist system he saw flourishing around him in Glasgow, a city grown rich from trade with the American colonies:

Read expert recommendations