"Plundering the liberal philosophical tradition"? The use or abuse of Adam Smith in Parliament, 1919-2023

Greene, Z., Jasinski, J. M., Roy, G. , Schober, T. and Scotto, T. J. (2023) "Plundering the liberal philosophical tradition"? The use or abuse of Adam Smith in Parliament, 1919-2023. National Institute Economic Review, (doi: 10.1017/nie.2023.23) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

The contemporary relevance of Adam Smith is evidenced by continued reference to his name. Computational analysis identifies over 700 mentions of Smith and his two famous works—The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations—in post-World War 1 House of Commons debates. We find some parliamentarians appreciate Smith’s complex ideas, but most references are ‘ornamental’. Charting Smith’s use over the decades, this paper builds on Kirk Willis’ idea that studying parliamentary debates are an ideal way to understand how, at best, policy ideas, germinate and disseminate over time, or, at worst, how ‘complex ideas became slogans’.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Adam smith, Hansard, parliamentary debates, history of economic thought, parliamentary speeches, ornamentalism, Wealth of Nations.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Jasinski, Mr Jan and Roy, Professor Graeme and Scotto, Professor Thomas
• Authors: Greene, Z., Jasinski, J. M., Roy, G., Schober, T., and Scotto, T. J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School; College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: National Institute Economic Review
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press on behalf of National Institute Economic Review
• ISSN: 0027-9501
• ISSN (Online): 1741-3036
• Published Online: 07 November 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023
• First Published: First published in National Institute Economic Review 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy
• Data DOI: 10.7910/DVN/QITLYJ