Adam Smith and Capitalism Today

April 13-14, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th听floor听|

Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.
Adam Smith and Capitalism Today

Our modern world has been decisively shaped by capitalism 鈥 on this, all agree. But has it been shaped by capitalism for the worse or for the better? Here we find less agreement. While some argue that capitalism has promoted the progress of society and the alleviation of poverty, others argue that capitalism has corrupted us by eviscerating our communities and exacerbating inequality.

How ought we then understand capitalism鈥檚 present state and possible future? For guidance, our conference proposes to go back to the past and revisit the social vision of Adam Smith, the thinker who more than any other thinker in our tradition is credited as the founding father of modern capitalism.

This event is especially timely given not just the current state of the debate over capitalism, but also the fact that 2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith鈥檚 birth. Adam Smith and Capitalism Today thus joins several other events worldwide being held this year in order to commemorate Smith鈥檚 tercentenary and examine his legacy and continued relevance.

Our conference will bring thirteen renowned experts from multiple fields 鈥 from economics to political science to philosophy 鈥 to the Boston College campus for two days of plenary addresses and panels and discussions. In so doing we hope to provide attendees with an opportunity to engage the wide range of themes Smith addressed 鈥 from sympathy and virtue and happiness to wealth and poverty and inequality 鈥 and thereby open up the question of how engaging Smith鈥檚 vision can help shape today鈥檚 discussions of capitalism鈥檚 future.

Cosponsored with the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy

Schedule and Registration

Thursday, April 13, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th听floor |

4:00-4:45 PM听听

Keynote Address听

Jerry Muller: 鈥淎dam Smith and Capitalism Today鈥

4:45-5:45 PM

Discussion Panel: 鈥淎dam Smith and Capitalism Today: A Discussion鈥

  • Emma Rothschild听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
  • Amartya Sen听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
  • Jerry Muller听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
Moderator: Ryan Hanley
5:45-6:45 PM

Opening Reception


Friday, April 14, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th听floor |

8:30-9:00 AM

Breakfast

9:00-10:30 AM

Panel #1: Smith and Sympathy

  • Remy Debes: 鈥淎dam Smith, Social Stability, and the Joy of Sympathy鈥
  • Maria Pia Paganelli: 鈥淎dam Smith and Sympathetic Cosmopolitanism鈥
10:30-10:45 AM听

Coffee

10:45-12:15 PM

Panel #2: Smith and Politics

  • Fonna Forman: 鈥淪ocializing Adam Smith鈥 听 听 听
  • Dennis Rasmussen: 鈥淎dam Smith and the Prudence of a Legislator鈥
12:30-1:30 PM

Lunch Break

1:45-3:15 PM

Panel #3: Smith and Society

  • Craig Smith: 鈥淎dam Smith and Public Business鈥澨
  • Brianne Wolf: 鈥淎dam Smith and Taste鈥
3:15-3:30 PM听听

Coffee

3:15-5:00 PM

Panel #4: Smith and His Legacy for Capitalism

  • Peter McNamara: 鈥淲hat is Political Economy?鈥澨
  • Doug Irwin: 鈥淎dam Smith鈥檚 Enduring Insights into Trade Policy鈥澨
  • Glory Liu: 鈥淎dam Smith and Modern Capitalism鈥
5:00-6:00 PM

Closing Reception


Speakers

Remy Debes

Remy Debes

Remy Debes听is Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He completed his PhD at Michigan in 2006. His principal areas of research are moral theory and the history of moral theory, with a focus on the Enlightenment figures of David Hume and Adam Smith, and the subjects of moral psychology, empathy, human dignity, and respect. His current manuscript project is titled,听The Possibility of Respect: Human听Dignity and the Ethics of Difference.


Fonna Forman

Fonna Forman听

Fonna Forman听(PhD University of Chicago)听is Professor of Political Theory and Founding Director of the Center on Global Justice at the University of California, San Diego. She is known internationally for her revisionist research on Adam Smith, and has served for ten years as Editor of the听Adam Smith Review.听Her work engages the intersection of ethics, public culture, urban policy and the city, with a focus on climate justice, borders and migration, and informal urbanization.听She regularly serves on local and international advisory bodies on human rights and climate justice. She is Co-Chair of the University of California鈥檚听Global Climate Leadership Council; and served until 2019 on听the Global Citizenship Commission, advising United Nations policy on human rights in the 21st听century.听She has three new books (co-authored with Teddy Cruz):听Spatializing Justice: Building Blocks听and听Socializing Architecture: Top-Down / Bottom-Up both published by the MIT Press; and听Unwalling Citizenship, forthcoming with Verso London.


Ryan Patrick Hanley

Ryan Patrick Hanley

Ryan Patrick Hanley听is Professor of Political Science at Boston College.听听Prior to joining the faculty at Boston College, he was the Mellon Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Marquette University, held visiting appointments or fellowships at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Chicago, and served as President of the International Adam Smith Society.听听The author of four books and sixty articles and chapters on Enlightenment political philosophy, his work on Adam Smith includes his books听Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue听(Cambridge, 2009) and听Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life听(Princeton, 2019), and two edited volumes:听Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy(Princeton, 2016), and the Penguin Classics edition of Adam Smith鈥檚听Theory of Moral Sentiments听(2009).听


Douglas Irwin

Douglas听Irwin听

Douglas听Irwin听is John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. He is the author of听Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy听(Chicago, 2017), which听The Economist听and听Foreign Affairs听selected as one of their Best Books of the Year. He is president-elect of the Economic History Association (2022-23), a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.听听He is also the author of听Free Trade Under Fire听(Princeton, 5th听ed. 2020),听Trade Policy Disaster: Lessons from the 1930s听(MIT, 2012),听Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression听(Princeton, 2011),听Against the Tide:听 An Intellectual History of Free Trade听(Princeton, 1996), and many articles on trade policy and economic history. Among his Smithian articles is 鈥淎dam Smith鈥檚 Tolerable Administration of Justice and the Wealth of Nations,鈥澨Scottish Journal of Political Economy听(July 2020).


Glory M. Liu

Glory M. Liu

Glory M. Liu听is a lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard and author of听Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Enlightenment Became an Icon of American Capitalism听(Princeton, 2022).听Her works have appeared in听Modern Intellectual History, History of European Ideas,听and she has also written for outlets such as听The Nation,听The Washington Post, and听Aeon Magazine.听


Peter McNamara

Peter McNamara

Peter McNamara鈥檚 research and teaching focuses on American political thought, Early Modern political thought, and political economy. He is the author of听Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic听(NIU, 1998) and the editor of听The Noblest Minds: Fame, Honor and the American Founding(Rowman and Littlefield, 1999) and (with Louis Hunt)听Liberalism, Conservatism and Hayek's Idea of Spontaneous Order听(Palgrave, 2007). 听He has written on a wide variety of other topics including Hayek鈥檚 moral theory, political opportunism, Jefferson鈥檚 federalism, and the intellectual origins of business schools.听He has taught at Utah State University, Boston College, and Clemson University, where he was a Hayek Visiting Scholar. He has also worked as a research officer for the Australian Treasury.听He has a Bachelor of Economics (with First Class Honors) from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and a doctorate in political science from Boston College.


Jerry Z. Muller

Jerry Z. Muller

Jerry Z. Muller听is professor emeritus of history at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of seven books, including听Adam Smith in His Time and Ours听(Princeton, 1993),听The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought听(Knopf, 2002);听Capitalism and the Jews听(Princeton, 2010), and听The Tyranny of Metrics, published by Princeton in 2018 and since translated into ten languages. His chapter on 鈥淣ationalism and Capitalism,鈥 is forthcoming in听The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism. His essays for a broad public include 鈥淯s and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism,鈥澨Foreign Affairs听(2008); and 鈥淐apitalism and Inequality: What the Right and the Left Get Wrong,鈥澨Foreign Affairs听(2013). His 36-part lecture series 鈥淭hinking about Capitalism鈥 (2009) is available from The Great Courses.


Maria Pia Paganelli

Maria Pia Paganelli

Maria Pia Paganelli听is a Professor of Economics at Trinity University. She works on Adam Smith, David Hume, and 18th century monetary theories.听听She wrote听The Routledge Guidebook to Adam Smith鈥檚 Wealth of Nations听(Routledge, 2020), and co-edited the听Oxford Handbook on Adam Smith听(Oxford, 2013)听and听Adam Smith and Rousseau听(Edinburgh, 2018).听She served as the Vice President of the History of Economics Society and as the book review editor for the听Journal of the History of Economic Thought.听听She is the current President of the International Adam Smith Society, and the president-elect of the History of Economics Society.听


Dennis C. Rasmussen

Dennis C.听Rasmussen听

Dennis C.听Rasmussen听is a Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University鈥檚 Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His research focuses on the Enlightenment, the American founding, and the virtues and shortcomings of liberal democracy and market capitalism. He is the author of five books, including听The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam听Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought听(Princeton, 2018), shortlisted for the Ralph Waldo听Emerson Award;听Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of听America鈥檚 Founders听(Princeton, 2021), named a best politics books of the year in the听Wall Street Journal; and, most recently,听The听Constitution鈥檚 Penman:听Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America鈥檚 Basic Charter听(Kansas, 2023).


Emma Rothschild

Emma Rothschild

Emma Rothschild is Jeremy and Jane Knowles Professor of History at Harvard University, a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and professeur invit茅e at the Centre ;Histoire deSciences Po, Paris. She is the Director of the Joint Center for History and Economics at Harvard and at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of An Infinite History: A Family in France over Three Centuries (Princeton University Press, 2021), The Inner Life of Empires:An Eighteenth-Century History (Princeton University Press, 2011), Economic Sentiments:Adam Smith, Condorcet and the Enlightenment (Harvard University Press, 2001), Paradise Lost: The Decline of the Auto-Industrial Age (Random House, 1973), and many articles in scholarly and other journals. She was Chair of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and has been a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Council on Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. She was awarded the 2022 Guggenheim Prize in the History of Economic Thought.


Amartya Sen

Amartya Sen听

Amartya Sen听is Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economicsand Philosophy, at Harvard University and was until 2004 the Master of Trinity College,Cambridge.听 He is also Senior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.听 Earlier on hewas Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University Calcutta, the Delhi School ofEconomics, and the London School of Economics, and Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University.听

Professor Sen has served as President of the Econometric Society, the AmericanEconomic Association, the Indian Economic Association, and the InternationalEconomic Association.听 He was formerly Honorary President of OXFAM and is now itsHonorary Advisor.听 His research has ranged over social choice theory, economic theory,ethics and political philosophy, welfare economics, theory of measurement, decisiontheory, development economics, public health, and gender studies.听 His books have been translated into more than thirty languages, and include听Choice of Techniques听(1960),听Growth Economics听(1970),听Collective Choice and Social Welfare听(1970),听On Economic Inequality听(1973, 1997),听Poverty and Famines听(1981),听Utilitarianism and Beyond听(jointly with Bernard Williams, 1982),听Choice, Welfare and Measurement听(1982),听Commodities and Capabilities听(1985),听The Standard of Living听(1987),听On Ethics and Economics听(1987),听Hunger and Public Action听(jointly with Jean Dr猫ze, 1989),听Inequality Re-examined听(1992),听The Quality of Life听(jointly with Martha Nussbaum, 1993),听Development as Freedom听(1999),听Rationality and Freedom听(2002),听The Argumentative Indian听(2005),听Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny听(2006),听The Idea of Justice听(2009),听An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions听(jointly with Jean Dr猫ze, 2013), and听The Country of First Boys听(2015). 听听

Professor Sen鈥檚 awards include Bharat Ratna (India), Commandeur de la Legion d鈥橦onneur (France), the National Humanities Medal (USA), Ordem do Merito Cientifico (Brazil), Honorary听Companion of Honour (UK), the Aztec Eagle (Mexico), the Edinburgh Medal (UK), the George Marshall Award (USA), the Eisenhower Medal (USA), and the Nobel Prize in Economics.


Craig Smith

Craig Smith

Craig Smith听is the Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at The University of Glasgow. He is the author of听Adam Smith鈥檚 Political Philosophy: The Invisible Hand and Spontaneous Order听(Routledge, 2013), and听Adam Smith听(Polity, 2020), and has co-edited the听Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith听and the听Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment. He is currently directing the University of Glasgow鈥檚 commemoration events for the tercentenary of Adam Smith鈥檚 birth.


Brianne Wolf

Brianne Wolf

Brianne Wolf听is Assistant Professor of Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy at James Madison College at Michigan State University. Trained in the history of political thought, her research and teaching reflect on questions about the interaction between economics and politics, liberalism, and moral judgment with a focus on the Scottish and French Enlightenments. She has published on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Friedrich Hayek in听History of Political Thought,听Polity,听Review of Politics, and edited volumes. Dr. Wolf is currently at work on a book length study of the role of taste in solving problems of individualism in the liberal tradition in the thought of David Hume, Rousseau, Smith, and Tocqueville titled 鈥淏eyond Rights and Price: Liberalism with Taste.鈥

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Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.