SMITH,ADAM AND CONSERVATIVE ECONOMICS

Adam Smith and conservative economics. The article considers Adam Smith's reputation in England and France in the decade following his death in 1790. It looks at Smith's renown as one of the inspirations of the French Revolution; at the effort of Dugald Stewart to defend his memory by redefining his view of freedom; and at the policy disputes about scarcity in which Smith was first invoked as a conservative thinker. It suggests that Smith's 'real sentiments' were close to those of Condorcet and French reformers.