Wealth, Commerce, and Corruption in Hume, Smith, and Ferguson

ABSTRACT

This conference compared David Hume’s and Adam Smith’s views on commerce and prosperity with those of Adam Ferguson. In contrast to Hume and Smith, Ferguson defends the ancient republics, especially Sparta, as the nurseries of human greatness and nobility of spirit.

READING LIST

Conference Readings

Adam Smith. "The Theory of Moral Sentiments." Liberty Fund. http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=192&Itemid=28 (July 7, 2009).

Ferguson, Adam. An Essay on the History of Civil Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Hume, David. “Essays, Moral, Political and Literary.” Liberty Fund, Inc. http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/704 (August 7, 2009).