An Austrian (Mis)Reads Adam Smith: A critique of Rothbard as intellectual historian

Peter Matthews and Andreas Ortmann

Review of Political Economy, 2002, vol. 14, issue 3, 379-392

Abstract: Murray Rothbard's posthumous Economic Thought Before Adam Smith is notable for its vilification of 'the quiet Scottish professor.' While there is little disagreement that Smith was, at best, an ambivalent champion of free markets, Rothbard's indictment of him as a proto-Marxist is less than persuasive. We argue that Rothbard's book suffers from logical flaws, selective and incomplete textual evidence, a misunderstanding of Das Adam Smith Problem and the relevant literature, and an unawareness of modern incentive-based theories of the firm and state anticipated in Book V of The Wealth of Nations.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1080/09538250220147895

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