The Wealth of Nations at 250! Misunderstood icon of free markets (opens in new tab)

Today, March 9th, marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Wealth of Nations (WN) in 1776. Adam Smith may also be one of the most misunderstood thinkers in the history of economics. Smith is not the father of modern economics, neither of capitalism, a term he never used.In modern discussions Smith is often portrayed as a precursor of contemporary economics, something like an early version of the Arrow-Debreu model of competitive equilibrium. I remember Sam Bowles suggesting that ...