ABSTRACT
Donald Winch’s Adam Smith’s Politics (1978) was an epoch-making work, in which he dismissed the traditional interpretation of Adam Smith’s political thought. In particular, Winch examined in a refreshing manner what was alleged to be Smith’s view of economic liberalism and cheap government. As illustrated by the works of McNally (1988), Dwyer (1992) and Fitzgibbons (1995), revisionist interpretations of Smith have advanced steadily ever since Winch wrote, being prompted by an extensive study of the Scottish Enlightenment. The three main Smith texts that are useful for discussing his politics and political thought are The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), The Lectures on Jurisprudence (Reports of 1762-63 and 1763-64, LJ hereafter ) and The Wealth of Nations (1776, WN hereafter). Except for some parts of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Book V of WN is the most important text regarding Smith’s Politics, because it is the sole document in which Smith published his arguments concerning government or politics in a complete form.
