Adam Smith and Capitalism Today
April 13-14, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th泭floor泭|

Our modern world has been decisively shaped by capitalism on this, all agree. But has it been shaped by capitalism for the worse or for the better? Here we find less agreement. While some argue that capitalism has promoted the progress of society and the alleviation of poverty, others argue that capitalism has corrupted us by eviscerating our communities and exacerbating inequality.
How ought we then understand capitalisms present state and possible future? For guidance, our conference proposes to go back to the past and revisit the social vision of Adam Smith, the thinker who more than any other thinker in our tradition is credited as the founding father of modern capitalism.
This event is especially timely given not just the current state of the debate over capitalism, but also the fact that 2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smiths birth. Adam Smith and Capitalism Today thus joins several other events worldwide being held this year in order to commemorate Smiths tercentenary and examine his legacy and continued relevance.
Our conference will bring thirteen renowned experts from multiple fields from economics to political science to philosophy to the Boston College campus for two days of plenary addresses and panels and discussions. In so doing we hope to provide attendees with an opportunity to engage the wide range of themes Smith addressed from sympathy and virtue and happiness to wealth and poverty and inequality and thereby open up the question of how engaging Smiths vision can help shape todays discussions of capitalisms future.
Cosponsored with the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy
Schedule and RegistrationThursday, April 13, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th泭floor | | |
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4:00-4:45 PM泭泭 | Keynote Address泭
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4:45-5:45 PM | Discussion Panel: Adam Smith and Capitalism Today: A Discussion
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5:45-6:45 PM | Opening Reception |
Friday, April 14, 2023 | Murray Function Room, Yawkey Center 4th泭floor | | |
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8:30-9:00 AM | Breakfast
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9:00-10:30 AM | Panel #1: Smith and Sympathy
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10:30-10:45 AM泭 | Coffee
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10:45-12:15 PM | Panel #2: Smith and Politics
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12:30-1:30 PM | Lunch Break |
1:45-3:15 PM | Panel #3: Smith and Society
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3:15-3:30 PM泭泭 | Coffee |
3:15-5:00 PM | Panel #4: Smith and His Legacy for Capitalism
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5:00-6:00 PM | Closing Reception |
Speakers

Remy Debes
Remy Debes泭is Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He completed his PhD at Michigan in 2006. His principal areas of research are moral theory and the history of moral theory, with a focus on the Enlightenment figures of David Hume and Adam Smith, and the subjects of moral psychology, empathy, human dignity, and respect. His current manuscript project is titled,泭The Possibility of Respect: Human泭Dignity and the Ethics of Difference.

Fonna Forman泭
Fonna Forman泭(PhD University of Chicago)泭is Professor of Political Theory and Founding Director of the Center on Global Justice at the University of California, San Diego. She is known internationally for her revisionist research on Adam Smith, and has served for ten years as Editor of the泭Adam Smith Review.泭Her work engages the intersection of ethics, public culture, urban policy and the city, with a focus on climate justice, borders and migration, and informal urbanization.泭She regularly serves on local and international advisory bodies on human rights and climate justice. She is Co-Chair of the University of Californias泭Global Climate Leadership Council; and served until 2019 on泭the Global Citizenship Commission, advising United Nations policy on human rights in the 21st泭century.泭She has three new books (co-authored with Teddy Cruz):泭Spatializing Justice: Building Blocks泭and泭Socializing Architecture: Top-Down / Bottom-Up both published by the MIT Press; and泭Unwalling Citizenship, forthcoming with Verso London.

Ryan Patrick Hanley
Ryan Patrick Hanley泭is Professor of Political Science at Boston College.泭泭Prior to joining the faculty at Boston College, he was the Mellon Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Marquette University, held visiting appointments or fellowships at Yale, Harvard, and the University of Chicago, and served as President of the International Adam Smith Society.泭泭The author of four books and sixty articles and chapters on Enlightenment political philosophy, his work on Adam Smith includes his books泭Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue泭(Cambridge, 2009) and泭Our Great Purpose: Adam Smith on Living a Better Life泭(Princeton, 2019), and two edited volumes:泭Adam Smith: His Life, Thought, and Legacy(Princeton, 2016), and the Penguin Classics edition of Adam Smiths泭Theory of Moral Sentiments泭(2009).泭

Douglas泭Irwin泭
Douglas泭Irwin泭is John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. He is the author of泭Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy泭(Chicago, 2017), which泭The Economist泭and泭Foreign Affairs泭selected as one of their Best Books of the Year. He is president-elect of the Economic History Association (2022-23), a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.泭泭He is also the author of泭Free Trade Under Fire泭(Princeton, 5th泭ed. 2020),泭Trade Policy Disaster: Lessons from the 1930s泭(MIT, 2012),泭Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression泭(Princeton, 2011),泭Against the Tide:泭 An Intellectual History of Free Trade泭(Princeton, 1996), and many articles on trade policy and economic history. Among his Smithian articles is Adam Smiths Tolerable Administration of Justice and the Wealth of Nations,泭Scottish Journal of Political Economy泭(July 2020).

Glory M. Liu
Glory M. Liu泭is a lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard and author of泭Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Enlightenment Became an Icon of American Capitalism泭(Princeton, 2022).泭Her works have appeared in泭Modern Intellectual History, History of European Ideas,泭and she has also written for outlets such as泭The Nation,泭The Washington Post, and泭Aeon Magazine.泭

Peter McNamara
Peter McNamaras research and teaching focuses on American political thought, Early Modern political thought, and political economy. He is the author of泭Political Economy and Statesmanship: Smith, Hamilton and the Foundation of the Commercial Republic泭(NIU, 1998) and the editor of泭The Noblest Minds: Fame, Honor and the American Founding(Rowman and Littlefield, 1999) and (with Louis Hunt)泭Liberalism, Conservatism and Hayek's Idea of Spontaneous Order泭(Palgrave, 2007). 泭He has written on a wide variety of other topics including Hayeks moral theory, political opportunism, Jeffersons federalism, and the intellectual origins of business schools.泭He has taught at Utah State University, Boston College, and Clemson University, where he was a Hayek Visiting Scholar. He has also worked as a research officer for the Australian Treasury.泭He has a Bachelor of Economics (with First Class Honors) from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and a doctorate in political science from Boston College.

Jerry Z. Muller
Jerry Z. Muller泭is professor emeritus of history at the Catholic University of America. He is the author of seven books, including泭Adam Smith in His Time and Ours泭(Princeton, 1993),泭The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought泭(Knopf, 2002);泭Capitalism and the Jews泭(Princeton, 2010), and泭The Tyranny of Metrics, published by Princeton in 2018 and since translated into ten languages. His chapter on Nationalism and Capitalism, is forthcoming in泭The Cambridge History of Nationhood and Nationalism. His essays for a broad public include Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic Nationalism,泭Foreign Affairs泭(2008); and Capitalism and Inequality: What the Right and the Left Get Wrong,泭Foreign Affairs泭(2013). His 36-part lecture series Thinking about Capitalism (2009) is available from The Great Courses.

Maria Pia Paganelli
Maria Pia Paganelli泭is a Professor of Economics at Trinity University. She works on Adam Smith, David Hume, and 18th century monetary theories.泭泭She wrote泭The Routledge Guidebook to Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations泭(Routledge, 2020), and co-edited the泭Oxford Handbook on Adam Smith泭(Oxford, 2013)泭and泭Adam Smith and Rousseau泭(Edinburgh, 2018).泭She served as the Vice President of the History of Economics Society and as the book review editor for the泭Journal of the History of Economic Thought.泭泭She is the current President of the International Adam Smith Society, and the president-elect of the History of Economics Society.泭

Dennis C.泭Rasmussen泭
Dennis C.泭Rasmussen泭is a Professor of Political Science at Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His research focuses on the Enlightenment, the American founding, and the virtues and shortcomings of liberal democracy and market capitalism. He is the author of five books, including泭The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam泭Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought泭(Princeton, 2018), shortlisted for the Ralph Waldo泭Emerson Award;泭Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of泭Americas Founders泭(Princeton, 2021), named a best politics books of the year in the泭Wall Street Journal; and, most recently,泭The泭Constitutions Penman:泭Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of Americas Basic Charter泭(Kansas, 2023).

Emma Rothschild
Emma Rothschild is Jeremy and Jane Knowles Professor of History at Harvard University, a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and professeur invit矇e at the Centre ;Histoire deSciences Po, Paris. She is the Director of the Joint Center for History and Economics at Harvard and at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of An Infinite History: A Family in France over Three Centuries (Princeton University Press, 2021), The Inner Life of Empires:An Eighteenth-Century History (Princeton University Press, 2011), Economic Sentiments:Adam Smith, Condorcet and the Enlightenment (Harvard University Press, 2001), Paradise Lost: The Decline of the Auto-Industrial Age (Random House, 1973), and many articles in scholarly and other journals. She was Chair of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and has been a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Council on Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. She was awarded the 2022 Guggenheim Prize in the History of Economic Thought.

Amartya Sen泭
Amartya Sen泭is Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economicsand Philosophy, at Harvard University and was until 2004 the Master of Trinity College,Cambridge.泭 He is also Senior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.泭 Earlier on hewas Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University Calcutta, the Delhi School ofEconomics, and the London School of Economics, and Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University.泭
Professor Sen has served as President of the Econometric Society, the AmericanEconomic Association, the Indian Economic Association, and the InternationalEconomic Association.泭 He was formerly Honorary President of OXFAM and is now itsHonorary Advisor.泭 His research has ranged over social choice theory, economic theory,ethics and political philosophy, welfare economics, theory of measurement, decisiontheory, development economics, public health, and gender studies.泭 His books have been translated into more than thirty languages, and include泭Choice of Techniques泭(1960),泭Growth Economics泭(1970),泭Collective Choice and Social Welfare泭(1970),泭On Economic Inequality泭(1973, 1997),泭Poverty and Famines泭(1981),泭Utilitarianism and Beyond泭(jointly with Bernard Williams, 1982),泭Choice, Welfare and Measurement泭(1982),泭Commodities and Capabilities泭(1985),泭The Standard of Living泭(1987),泭On Ethics and Economics泭(1987),泭Hunger and Public Action泭(jointly with Jean Dr癡ze, 1989),泭Inequality Re-examined泭(1992),泭The Quality of Life泭(jointly with Martha Nussbaum, 1993),泭Development as Freedom泭(1999),泭Rationality and Freedom泭(2002),泭The Argumentative Indian泭(2005),泭Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny泭(2006),泭The Idea of Justice泭(2009),泭An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions泭(jointly with Jean Dr癡ze, 2013), and泭The Country of First Boys泭(2015). 泭泭
Professor Sens awards include Bharat Ratna (India), Commandeur de la Legion dHonneur (France), the National Humanities Medal (USA), Ordem do Merito Cientifico (Brazil), Honorary泭Companion of Honour (UK), the Aztec Eagle (Mexico), the Edinburgh Medal (UK), the George Marshall Award (USA), the Eisenhower Medal (USA), and the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Craig Smith
Craig Smith泭is the Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment at The University of Glasgow. He is the author of泭Adam Smiths Political Philosophy: The Invisible Hand and Spontaneous Order泭(Routledge, 2013), and泭Adam Smith泭(Polity, 2020), and has co-edited the泭Oxford Handbook of Adam Smith泭and the泭Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment. He is currently directing the University of Glasgows commemoration events for the tercentenary of Adam Smiths birth.

Brianne Wolf
Brianne Wolf泭is Assistant Professor of Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy at James Madison College at Michigan State University. Trained in the history of political thought, her research and teaching reflect on questions about the interaction between economics and politics, liberalism, and moral judgment with a focus on the Scottish and French Enlightenments. She has published on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Friedrich Hayek in泭History of Political Thought,泭Polity,泭Review of Politics, and edited volumes. Dr. Wolf is currently at work on a book length study of the role of taste in solving problems of individualism in the liberal tradition in the thought of David Hume, Rousseau, Smith, and Tocqueville titled Beyond Rights and Price: Liberalism with Taste.
Campus Map and Parking
Parking is available at the nearby Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue Garages.
Boston College is also accessible via public transportation (MBTA B Line - Boston College).
Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.