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 ...

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 ...

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 ...