The Spirit of Smithian Laws

Eight testimonials for Dan Klein scholarship on Adam Smith Richard Whatmore, Professor and Chair of Modern History, University of St. Andrews, editor of History of European Ideas, and Co-direct of St. Andrews Institute of Intellectual History: ""In 2023 Adam Smith will be 300 years old. There will be a very large number of ill-informed books about him being published in this special year. Smith-now that we are recovering the actual historical Smith-still has a great deal to say to us. Dan Klein knows this, understands Smith as well as any scholar and has a gift for communicating (understatement). Everything he publishes is accessible and significant. It is also worth saying that his public presence is remarkable and remarkably wide-ranging. He reaches audiences fellow academics simply cannot reach."" Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Economics and of History, and Professor Emerita of English and of Communication, adjunct in classics and philosophy, at the University of Illinois at Chicago: ""Klein is the rare economist who listens to what others say. In this he follows Smith, and with these volumes emerges as the sage's leading listener. He writes beautifully and with purpose, to bring us away from the Smith of left or right coercion and towards the Smith of what he calls 'spiral, ' a vein of the Scottish enlightenment, and still therapeutic for our own troubled times."" Knud Haakonssen, Professor Emeritus of Intellectual History, University of St. Andrews & University of Sussex. ""Dan Klein's collection of papers represents an imposing body of work on Smith as an historical figure and as thinker of lasting relevance. The papers have an impressive range, which is what Smith's many-sided work requires. At the same time, there is a keen engagement with the scholarly and critical literature. Klein's writing is clear and direct. It is a pleasure to recommend the collection."" Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate in Economics and Professor, Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, Chapman University: ""Three centuries after his birth, Adam Smith was never more relevant and inspiring. Dan Klein's essays convey that inspiration in an accessible style reinforcing the relevance of this greatest of 18th century scholars."" Thomas W. Merrill, Associate Professor, Department of Government, American Universit