ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the changing fortunes of James Steuart and Adam Smith over time in the history of economic thought. It focuses on the contentious role of the statesman as conceived by the two authors. The chapter discusses the concept of ‘Smithian Vice’. There were two critical readings of Smith that were vastly consequential in reformatting his analytical apparatus. One was by Jean-Baptiste Say. The other was by David Ricardo, his disciple on his native soil, who was an autodidact in economics and explored new horizons after reading the Wealth of Nations. There exists a hearsay that because Steuart as the firstcomer called his book An Inquiry into the Principles of Political Economy, Smith was possibly compelled to react by naming his book otherwise, and adopted the title of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in order to differentiate his work from that of his predecessor.
