Adam Smith’s Enlightened World

Liberty, understood through free markets, limited government, and the rule of law is best exemplified in the writings of the eighteenth century Scottish moral philosopher, Adam Smith. Perhaps no other single author’s major works captures all these themes together while at the same time being an iconic figure of these themes. The purpose of this grant request is to use Adam Smith’s writings and ideas to advance these themes among groups ranging from Smith scholars to the lay public, and with focus on English and Spanish speakers. We hope to develop a web portal that will host scholarly and educational material focused on the writings of Adam Smith and offer different access points for scholars, graduate students, teachers, professionals, and businessmen, on his writings. Thus among our objectives are: to develop a permanent digital site for purposes of scholarship, information, and discussion about Adam Smith; to offer regular annual conferences on Smith’s works; to attract public attention to Smith and his ideas and writings; to have study or course materials on Smith available for groups or schools who might wish to offer courses or lectures on Smith; to partner with other institutions who may have similar interests but different or complementary ways of dealing with Smith and his ideas; and to use our facilities and library for events concerned with Smith’s works. We would like to provide some of these outputs in Spanish as well as English. In short, we would like to create a major focal point for the study of Adam Smith and the Smithian tradition of “natural liberty”. We have discovered through experience that Smith’s works are one of the most compelling and attractive means to reflect on and explore the moral and institutional conditions of a free society. We think we can leverage that experience in developing this project.