The Essential Adam Smith by James Otteson (published 2018) is a short but insightful primer on Adam Smith and his seminal contributions to political economy. The book provides some historical details of Smith’s life and work and introduces the reader to important themes in his two-volume magnus opum, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) and The Wealth of Nations (WN).
I appreciate how Otteson unpacks Smith’s rich conception of human nature, particularly people’s natural desire to be in harmony with the moral sentiments of their neighbour (what Smith calls the “mutual sympathy of sentiments”), and shows how this mutuality plays out in people’s social and economic dealings.
Students of political economy would be aware of the so-called ‘Adam Smith problem’: how to reconcile the apparent inconsistent portrayal of human behaviour in TMS (which deals with topics of ‘morality’ and ‘mutual sympathy’) and WN (which deals with ‘economics’ and ‘self-interest’). Otteson persuasively argues that, in Smith’s thinking, ‘mutual sympathy’ does not flat out contradict but moderates and constrains the way we pursue our ‘self-interest’. According to Adam Smith, while people are indeed driven by self-interest to pursue their personal betterment, they do so within a society that have over time discovered the Golden Rule of equality and mutual respect. The moral order we inhabit constrains us from getting what we want by forcing our neighbours to meet our needs. Instead we are habituated by our moral experiences and social institutions to consider what others want and engage in bartering and exchange that are mutually beneficial. As Otteson puts it,
For Smith, then, the act of making a person an offer is a recognition of the inherent value of others; it reflects the equal dignity that each of us has, and it is a shining example of proper moral relations among people. (p. 55)
In other words, markets and wealth creation in Smith’s WN are the result of societies recognising the moral equality of individuals as expounded in his TMS.
A worthwhile guide for those interested in Adam Smith’s ideas. You can get it for free here: https://www.essentialscholars.org/smith.