We continue our look at Murray Rothbard's two volume An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought with a show focused on Adam Smith. Rothbard attacked him mercilessly as a plagiarist who set economic theory back decades with his muddled views on value and price. But was this criticism justified, or was Smith actually an early and valiant proponent of laissez-faire?
Our guest Hunter Hastings defends Smith in this rollicking discussion, while Professor Jonathan Newman is not so sure. They also discuss the Scottish Enlightenment and Smithian thinkers like Bentham and Malthus, and even tackle the contentious question of whether Smith produced Marx. Don't miss this!
Jeff Deist is president of the Mises Institute. He previously worked as chief of staff to Congressman Ron Paul, and as an attorney for private equity clients. Contact: email; Twitter.
Hunter Hastings is a member of the Mises Institute, Business Consultant, and co-chair of the Rescue California Educational Foundation. He is also host of the Economics for Entrepreneurs podcast. You can find Hunter’s writings on entrepreneurship at hunterhastings.com.
Jonathan Newman is Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at Bryan College and an Associated Scholar of the Mises Institute. He earned his PhD at Auburn University while a Research Fellow at the Mises Institute.
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