Volume 2, published in 2006, mixes thematic symposia with debate and reviews.
Moral theory and the theory of choice
Guest editor Elias Khalil introduces the symposium with an essay titled “Smith the hedgehog”. The contributions relate Smith to modern ideas about decision making and institutions:
– Roberto Scazzieri proposes a Smithian theory of choice.
– Jeffrey Young connects Smith to new institutional theories of property rights.
– Eric Schliesser analyses the social conditions that make property possible.
– Jean-Pierre Dupuy considers invidious sympathy.
– Brendan Long explores Smith’s natural theology of society.
Recent scholarship
Catherine Labio surveys the literary turn in Smith studies, arguing that the answer to many puzzles lies in the text itself.
Comments and debate
Charles Griswold argues that Smith’s system is incomplete, and Ian Simpson Ross replies.
Is life a marketplace?
A second symposium, introduced by Fonna Forman-Barzilai, discusses James Otteson’s book Adam Smith and the Marketplace of Life. Lauren Brubaker argues that Smith is neither a conservative nor a libertarian, Maria Pia Paganelli asks why Smith favoured decentralised systems, Eric Schliesser discusses a theoretical endorsement of deception, and Otteson responds to his critics.
Wealth of Nations symposium
A third symposium on Samuel Fleischacker’s book on the Wealth of Nations, introduced by Ryan Hanley, includes Jerry Muller, Frederick Neuhouser and David Raynor, with a response from Fleischacker.
Reviews and a note
Book reviews cover works by Alvey, Biziou, Groenewegen, Macintyre, Montes and Tribe. A correction by Richard Sher concerns the registration of the Wealth of Nations.