Was Adam Smith Really a Right-Winger? (Update)

This episode of Freakonomics Radio revisits a deep dive into the legacy of Adam Smith, challenging the modern myth of him as a purely right-wing advocate of free markets. Host Stephen Dubner explores how Smith, the 18th-century Scottish philosopher and author of *The Theory of Moral Sentiments* and *The Wealth of Nations*, has been selectively interpreted—particularly by the University of Chicago school and figures like Milton Friedman and George Stigler—to serve libertarian and conservative agendas. The episode reveals that Smith was far more nuanced: a moral philosopher deeply concerned with human sympathy, inequality, and the dangers of unchecked commercial society. Scholars like Glory Liu and Dennis Rasmussen argue that the Chicago School cherry-picked Smith’s ideas—especially the 'invisible hand'—while downplaying his warnings about collusion, rent-seeking, and the moral costs of endless wealth pursuit. The episode also examines how Smith’s ideas were embraced by Margaret Thatcher and the Adam Smith Institute in the UK, leading to sweeping privatizations, yet many of these reforms have been criticized for lacking public accountability and failing to deliver equitable outcomes. Ultimately, the show contends that the real Adam Smith is not a one-dimensional icon but a complex thinker whose full moral and economic vision remains underappreciated. Reading both of his major works reveals a man who valued both market efficiency and human dignity, urging a balance between self-interest and virtue.