Evaluating Adam Smith Adam Smith is well recognised as the forefather of modern economics and his success can be attributed not only to what he wrote but also for his use of the language. In this new book, Willie Henderson shows how Smith engaged creatively in writing about the economy and analyses the extent to which he tried to ensure that the reader is drawn into the text and informed by it. The book demonstrates methods of undertaking analysis in ways that are helpful to new researchers on the works of Adam Smith. Evaluating Adam Smith sets Smith’s work in the cultural context of the eighteenth century and explores the lexical and conceptual inter-relations between Smith and the sources he consulted. Issues explored include Smith’s use of irony and his work in the context of wealth, virtue and happiness as presented in the Moral Sentimentsand theWealth of Nations. This study employs the literary techniques of close reading and close textual analysis and applies them to sustained passages of Smith’s writing. Willie Hendersonwas until recently Professor of Continuing Education/Director of the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Birmingham, UK. In February 2006 he took up the post of Director of the Alworth Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth in the United States of America. Routledge Studies in the History of Economics 1 Economics as Literature 8 The History of Game Willie Henderson Theory,Vol 1 From the beginnings to 1945 2 Socialism and Marginalism in Robert W. Dimand and Mary Ann Economics 1870–1930 Dimand Edited by Ian Steedman 9 The Economics of 3 Hayek’s Political W.S.Jevons Economy Sandra Peart The socio-economics of order Steve Fleetwood 10 Gandhi’s Economic Thought Ajit K. 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No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN10: 0–415–33668–6 ISBN13: 978–0–415–33668–0 To Angus