The Wealth of Nations

The most cited and least read book in economics, and far more humane than its caricature. Smith was a moral philosopher, and his case for markets comes with conditions: that they serve the public, that the powerful not be allowed to rig them, that sympathy and justice come first. Read whole, the man behind the invisible hand is cautious, skeptical of merchants, and concerned above all with the common good. The civic case for markets is his, and it is conditional.

The Scottish moral philosopher remembered for one metaphor and misread because of it. The Wealth of Nations is not a brief for greed. It is a careful argument that a well-ordered market can turn private effort toward public benefit, written by a man whose other great book was about moral sentiments and human sympathy. Read whole, Smith is more humane and more cautious than the caricature that carries his name. The civic case for markets is his, and it has conditions.