ABSTRACT
In the framework of the studies on the first circulation of the ideas of James Steuart, the Italian context has remained largely unexplored. Initially conceived as an occasional writing, aimed at obtaining the chair of public economics, Dello spirito di riforma was Giovanni Tamassia’s first attempt to grapple with economic issues. Tamassia was the first Italian author to openly refer to Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy as a primary source for economic thought. In the Dello spirito di riforma, Tamassia had not felt the need to justify the coexistence of the adherence to economic freedom with the assumption of Steuart as a main reference for his economic analysis, but the perspective changed some years later. Tamassia’s reading of Adam Smith and his comparison of two Scottish authors’ ideas led him to explain his position more clearly.
