Adam Smith and the neo-liberal paradigm: on the essential nature of trust, and rebalancing capital

MacDonald, R. (2023) Adam Smith and the neo-liberal paradigm: on the essential nature of trust, and rebalancing capital. National Institute Economic Review, 265, pp. 105-143. (doi: 10.1017/nie.2023.25)

Abstract

The key aim of this article is to reassess the societal consequences of the adoption of neo-liberal policies, post-1970, in the light of the writings of Adam Smith. We make two main points: First, the neo-liberal paradigm (NLP) and its characteristics are not the creation of Adam Smith as asserted by leading economists and, indeed, the contrary is very much the case. Second, given this, what does Adam Smith’s work tell us about how we can fix modern-day capitalism broken by the NLP and bring it back in line with Smith’s work?

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: MacDonald, Professor Ronald
• Authors: MacDonald, R.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Journal Name: National Institute Economic Review
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0027-9501
• ISSN (Online): 1741-3036