Shawn Ritenour writes:
Three days ago I had the honor of delivering the Founders Lecture in Pittsburgh sponsored by the Center for Vision and Values. My topic was “Economic Freedom and the Early American Republic.”
I gave the audience a whirlwind tour of the variety of economic ideas that were current in the minds of the founders. I highlighted the distinction between the mercantilism of James Steuart and the political economy of Adam Smith. I also cited the ethics of property affirmed by Samuel Willard and John Witherspoon, the economic analysis of American Pelatiah Webster and the importance of the early French Liberal school.
