Adam Smith and the Philosophy of Law and Economics

This work brings together a team of international and interdisciplinary scholars to address the work of Adam Smith as it relates to law and economics. In addition to their own contributions, the book includes works by Dr John W. Cairns of the University of Edinburgh, Dr J. Ralph Lindgren of Lehigh University, Professor Kenneth A.B. Mackinnon of the University of Waikato and the Honorable Richard A. Posner of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Together, these authors bring expertise from the areas of law, philosophy, history, economics and law and economics to a study of Adam Smith and his work. Part One of the book presents new observations on Smith’s views on community, ethics, the court system, criminal law and delictual or tort law liability. In this part of the book, Smith’s work is also examined from the perspective of his use as persuasive authority in the works of modern legal economists. In Part Two the living Smith is explored by way of a debate between two major contributors in the field of law and economics. The debate and its analysis create a contemporary opportunity to study Smith as a foundational source in the midst of a current academic and social policy dispute. This work should challenge the one-dimensional portrayals of Smith as a promoter of self-interest and should correct many of the misinterpretations of Smith that are fashionable in the worlds of law and economics and the philosophy of law.