Review by Choice Review
Fleischacker (philosophy, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) skillfully shows how Smith, using a commonsense philosophical approach and an abiding belief in moral reflection, makes the social construction of the self and individual free action compatible within a system where distributive justice matters. The author explores Smith's methodology and his views on human nature, foundations of economics, justice, and politics. Detailed attention is given to the intellectual history of each topic and to the influence Smith's trusted contemporaries, Francis Hutcheson and David Hume, had on his work. Each section of the book can stand alone as a philosophical reference to The Wealth of Nations, but serious readers will want to digest it all before rereading Wealth. Fleischacker closes with a menu of policies Smith might advocate today, showing that his work crosses a wide range of the political policy spectrum. The book is neither polemic nor strident, but many readers may wonder how they could have read Smith so superficially in the past. While some issues are discussed and admittedly left unresolved, no other book so thoroughly integrates Smith's work. Anyone interested in Adam Smith should read this well-written, extensively documented work. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty collections. J. Halteman Wheaton College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
