As a part of the international tour devoted to the celebration of Adam Smith tricentennial, Daniel Klein, a George Mason University professor, will speak on the ideological legacy of the great thinker.
Adam Smith remains a major figure, now 300 years after his birth in 1723. There is a healthy ongoing conversation over who, today, can best claim Smith. Happily, the conversation maintains scholarly civility. Traditionally, Smith has been associated with free markets and skepticism toward the governmentalization of social affairs. But now there are many left Smithians, who suggest that Smith’s ghost smiles upon the moderate left today. Dan Klein will review the arguments of the left Smithian, and argue that, though some of their points are sound, those points do not imply that Smith would be favorable to the left today. The left Smithians are overplaying their hand.
Daniel Klein is professor of economics and JIN Chair at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he leads a program in Adam Smith. He is the author of Smithian Morals.
The lecture will be in English and can be followed online:
https://zoom.us/j/92115778834?pwd=cENJS1N1djF0MEp4RnBkMzhJdHJ5dz09
Meeting ID: 921 1577 8834
Passcode: 071966
