Adam Smith in His Time and Ours Reprint Edition

by Jerry Z. Muller (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0691001616

ISBN-10: 0691001618

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Counter to the popular impression that Adam Smith was a champion of selfishness and greed, Jerry Muller shows that the Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations maintained that markets served to promote the well-being of the populace and that government must intervene to counteract the negative effects of the pursuit of self-interest. Smith's analysis went beyond economics to embrace a larger "civilizing project" designed to create a more decent society.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A profoundly erudite and timely study."---John Gray, National Review

"Muller's great accomplishment in this book is to present a clear, thoughtful, and engaging overview of Adam Smith's thought. He reveals Smith to be a wide-ranging and innovative thinker who formulated a comprehensive social science."---Peter McNamara, The Review of Politics

Review

"Jerry Muller has written an extraordinarily good book on the most quoted and least read of the worldly philosophers."―Robert Heilbroner, Author of The Worldly Philosophers

"A good work of intellectual history should exemplify two qualities above all: an imagination that allows the author to 'pass over' into the horizon of his subject in order to see the world as the subject sees it; and a sympathy such as to gain a feel for the world of the subject. . . . Like Adam Smith, his subject, intellectual historian Jerry Muller exemplifies these traits to an exceptional degree."―Michael Novak, First Things

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (July 3, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 263 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691001618
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691001616
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.72 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #459,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #79 in Economic Theory (Books)
- #673 in Theory of Economics
- #1,267 in Economic History (Books)

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About the author

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Jerry Z. Muller

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Jerry Z. Muller’s books, articles, and lecture courses are on the border between history, social science, philosophy, and public policy. He publishes frequently in general interest magazines.

His new book, PROFESSOR OF APOCALYPSE: THE MANY LIVES OF JACOB TAUBES, will be published by Princeton University Press in May, 2022.

His previous book, THE TYRANNY OF METRICS, was published by Princeton University Press in 2018 and has been translated into ten languages.

He is the author of five previous books, all available from Amazon.

His lecture series, “THINKING ABOUT CAPITALISM,” is available from The Great Courses.

An emeritus professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. he writes and lectures about a variety of historical and contemporary subjects, including capitalism; nationalism; conservatism; the history of social, political, economic, and religious thought; and modern German and Jewish history.

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Khannie

An exceptional book from an exceptional author.

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2014

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Placing Smith's economic thought within the context of his broader social science, Mr. Muller does a great service for those only familiar with "The Wealth of Nations." Although this book has immense value as a work of intellectual history, I was surprised how often Smith's moral and political reasoning provided useful insights for contemporary problems.

I cannot speak highly enough of this book. I do, however, fault Mr. Muller (or his publishing company) for neglecting to make it available on Kindle. Your work merits an audience Mr. Muller, it should be made available on as many platforms as possible!

4 people found this helpful

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Zvi Bodie

This is an excellent introduction to Adam Smith's ideas.

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 1998

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I am sure that anyone interested in the history of ideas will enjoy reading this book for its clear exposition of Smith's ideas and their relevance to today's economic, social, and political issues. Muller has a scholar's mastery of Smith's writings as well as a broad knowledge of their intellectual antecedents. The style is jargon-free.

19 people found this helpful

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Whitesheep

nice goods. Thanks

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2014

Verified Purchase

Prompt delivery, nice goods. Thanks.

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Adam C.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good book.

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C. Kollars

a unique interpretation, with which every well-rounded conversant should be familiar

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014

This book describes Adam Smith as others who lived at the same time would have seen him (which is perforce a little different than we see him now, centuries later). For example, he was guided by and contributed to international philosophic disputes that appear antiquated or quaint or just plain ridiculous now, such as the discussions about "natural rights" volleyed between the French and the Scottish enlightenments. And certain parts of his writings that appear to us a little disconnected or exaggerated make perfect sense when understood as attempts to appeal to a particular government agency or a house of the British Parliament or a particular political party.

And of course once one gets "in context" and starts reexamining the man, it's a slippery slope to reexamining the man's writings too. So it's not surprising that much of this book is devoted to reinterpreting Adam Smith's entire written oeuvre. Or to put it a little differently, this book winds up describing in great detail what Adam Smith's writings "really" meant. Unsurprisingly, there are a few significant differences between the results of this approach and how we understand his writings nowadays. For example he was not very concerned with (and even somewhat denigrated) both "laissez-faire" and "profits". Instead his main concern was designing and constructing a "decent society" that worked well for everyone. Although the book doesn't say so explicitly, the obvious conclusion is that if Adam Smith saw how his works are understood and used these days, he would be horrified.

This book's general drift is completely unlike anything else I've seen about Adam Smith and his work. Its unusualness opens the question of whether it's a sober and scholarly examination (which unfortunately appears to be unique when it shouldn't), or the work of a crackpot with an axe to grind. The question is particularly acute since reconstruction of a past society is so much more about individual "feel" than about scholarly agreement. My own (rather limited) opinion is the scholarship is thorough and legitimate, the author's credentials and consistency across his other books exemplary, and the reinterpretation reasonable and sensible. In any case, it's worth reading for yourself (especially if you have a liking for "revisionism").

4 people found this helpful

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Rob Szarka

Puts Smith in Context

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2009

Muller puts Smith in historical context and integrates his major works ( Wealth of Nations , Theory of Moral Sentiments , and Lectures on Jurisprudence , the latter surviving only in the form of student notes) to paint a complete picture of Smith as moral philosopher. Smith's philosophy is often mischaracterized as one in which "greed is good" and the market alone is sufficient to attain a civil and productive society. Muller goes far beyond this cartoonish version of Smith to place his appreciation for the market in its proper context and distinguish Smith from contemporaries such as Mandeville and Bentham.

Muller's analysis is well-developed, but his exposition is at times repetitive. The final chapter, in which he attempts to relate Smith's philosophy to contemporary society, is a bit of a throwaway; and Muller is on shakier ground discussing economics than ethics. On balance, though, this is a fascinating and useful book that any student of Adam Smith should own. Despite the book's age, even the twenty-page Guide to Further Reading remains valuable.

10 people found this helpful

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Gary H. Goubeau

There is more to Adam Smith Than I Thought

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2009

Before reading this book I believed that I was aware of the essence of what Adam Smith offered, but I was wrong, and I suspect many others would learn from this book that there is a complexity to Adam Smith's philosophy of which most have not been informed.

Smith has much to say about the role of government, and the negatives of market capitalism, opinions for which he is little known. He also presents a less than sanguine view of the motives and morals of the merchant class. Many of us who think we possess a clear understand of what Adam Smith advocated might find this book enlightening.

To gain such understanding we could simply read the Wealth of Nations in its entirety, but reading Adam Smith in the original can be difficult and tedious. Professor Muller does all the heavy lifting for us, adds his own very substantial erudition, and presents an entertaining and valuable survey of Smith's writings and wisdom along with interesting biographical information.

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