This year marks the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith, the iconic figure behind the theory of free markets, or of what we have since come to call “capitalism.” Born in June 1723, Smith went on to ...

How far back can one trace the origin of an idea? Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” may have hidden roots that stretch back to the days of nomadic hunting and gathering. Readers of this blog are already ...

Adam Smith has become the symbol of American capitalism, a champion of free trade and a free market. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, it sometimes seems as if capitalism and America share the ...

The academic economist’s dry prose usually benefits from an evocative metaphor. But we would all be better off if Adam Smith had skipped the bit about “the invisible hand.” He meant little, if ...

Reviewed by Michael J Boyle Fact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug Nations around the world employ several different types of economic systems; two such types are socialism and capitalism. Capitalism is ...