Adam Smith cover art

Adam Smith

What He Thought, and Why It Matters

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Adam Smith

By: Jesse Norman
Narrated by: Jesse Norman
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Adam Smith written and read by Jesse Norman.

Adam Smith is now widely regarded as 'the father of modern economics' and the most influential economist who ever lived. But what he really thought, and what the implications of his ideas are, remain fiercely contested. Was he an eloquent advocate of capitalism and the freedom of the individual? Or a prime mover of 'market fundamentalism' and an apologist for inequality and human selfishness?

This exceptional book, by a writer who combines to an unusual degree intellectual training and practical political experience, dispels the myths and caricatures and gives us Smith in the round. It lays out a succinct and highly engaging account of Smith's life and times, explores his work as a whole and traces his influence over the past two centuries. Finally, it shows how a proper understanding of Smith can help us grasp - and address - the problems of modern capitalism. The Smith who emerges from this book is not only the first thinker to place markets at the heart of economics but also a pioneering theorist of moral philosophy, culture and society.

©2018 Jesse Norman (P)2018 Penguin Audio Economics Historical Philosophers Professionals & Academics Theory Economic disparity Economic inequality American History US Economy

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Mises cover art
Adam Smith cover art
Analysis: A Macat Analysis of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations cover art
Follow the Money cover art
The Theory of Moral Sentiments cover art
The Locust and the Bee cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
Under Western Eyes cover art
Analysis: A Macat Analysis of J. A. Hobson's Imperialism: A Study cover art
The Rothbard Reader cover art
Fascism Versus Capitalism cover art
Capitalism cover art
The Theory of the Leisure Class cover art
An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought cover art
Austrian Economics and Public Policy cover art
Capitalism and the Jews cover art

Critic reviews

In this splendid book, Jesse Norman not only presents an excellent introduction to the life and ideas of Adam Smith, but also explains why - and how - Smith's insights can help us solve some of the most difficult social and economic problems of the contemporary world. Smith loved lucidity and relevance, and I think he would have been very happy with Norman's book. (Amartya Sen)
Masterly ... amid the superficiality and hysterics of modern British politics, an admirably thoughtful brain is lurking (Edward Lucas)
An important work of revisionist biography with a direct and important impact on the intellectual underpinnings of liberal free-market thought. If we want to be well governed, we need to be governed by people who have the capacity not merely to act but also to think - and Jesse Norman, as this book amply demonstrates, is one of those people. (Oliver Letwin)
All stars
Most relevant  
This is a wise and humane biography and outline of Adam Smith‘s thoughts. It reveals Smith to be a wise and humane man, contrary to the Left’s caricature of Smith as the pioneer of ‘greed is good’ or the Right’s amoral idols of markets free of restraint or regulation and individuals free of responsibility to others. Norman reveals Smith to have been primarily a philosopher rather than an economist who saw human morality and behaviour to be rooted in our interactions with others - interactions founded upon sympathy.

Norman’s book reveals Smith to have been much more a follower of Hume than a pioneer of free market fundamentalism. It makes me want to read Smith’s works - especially The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Norman’ work might have been more complete by a more critical approach to Smith’s thought - what did he get wrong- because doing that would have given a more Smithian balance and treat him as a respected interlocutor to be engaged with rather than a source of wisdom. Although there are parts where Norman tries to summarise what Smith said ( or might have said) on important issues in moral/political/economic thought (eg inequality ). I would have liked more of these.

Well worth reading and re-reading.

Wise and humane

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sometimes heavy going and it did seem to drift but overall worth persevering as part are excellent and what seemed to be divergence merely fill in some foundation on Adam Smiths life and contribution.

Detail overview thought provoking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Having struggled badly reading The Wealth Of Nations. I approached this book with caution. I was very wrong to do so. This is an excellent book which breaks down Smiths views and compares them to modern examples. More importantly, the reader is reminded that Smiths influence and ideas are still very relevant. The book also changes my overall view of Smith. As once thought of as an economist, but in reality he was a philosopher. The performance was very engaging which kept me interested in a subject which can be at times, very dull. I highly recommend this book as it provides and insight into the economies and markets of nations past and present, but also of a very fascinating and strong willed individual whom was never afraid of stating his strong opposition to barbaric practices of his time.

Engaging and Educational

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent summary of Adam Smith and overview political economy. Much better than expected. Good audio performance by author

Worth buying

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a work of first class scholarship. It presents a political and economic manifesto essential for a prosperous future for us all based upon the learnings and lessons drawn critically from the complete writings of Adam Smith. It is a great pity that the current leadership of Mr Norman’s Tory Party will see this work, if they see it at all, as a threat rather than a promise!

The Future Well Told

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.